The year 1998 saw the end of the legendary Chicago Bulls dynasty. The trio of Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and Scottie Pippen parted ways, leading to the birth of a new era. However, there are still plenty of details about the 1997-1998 season that left people shocked. Like Rodman’s unique incentive-driven contract. A contract that on paper looked better than His Ariness’ $33,000,000 one, especially due to a clause that paid $1,000,000 just to show up.
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Thanks to his erratic behavior, The Worm wasn’t your typical NBA player, especially when it mattered, missing 14 games in the 1997 season. So, the Bulls decided to hand him a contract with $4,500,000 million as a base salary. Slightly on the cheaper side, but a contract that is made special thanks to the $5,950,000 million he could earn through incentives, including $1,000,000 just for showing up.
Jerry Krause handed Dennis Rodman a contract that allowed him to earn $1 million for suiting up
The 1997-1998 season was the last year of dominance for the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan was returning, Phil Jackson would take a year off, and Scottie Pippen would head to the Houston Rockets. Another factor was Dennis Rodman, who at the start of the season signed a new contract with the team. It wasn’t a big contract, in fact, it was rather small given the impact The Worm brought on the court.
A one-year deal, with a base salary of $4.5 million. However, it was the incentives that made this deal noticeable. Centered around his behavior on and off the court, Rodman could earn a potential $5.95 million in incentives. Incentives that included a clause that guaranteed him $1 million if he suited up for every game of the season.
The best part is, it was a deal that Rodman got fairly easily. As Sports Illustrated revealed, he demanded that former Vice President of Basketball Operations, Jerry Krause pay him for what he does. And, Krause without hesitation bowed to his whim.
“Dennis said, ‘Pay me for what I do,'” says Krause. “I said, ‘Fine, no problem.’ We structured the contract accordingly. He’s got to be in the games. He can’t get thrown out. He was comfortable knowing everything was in his hands.”
It certainly is one of the more interesting contracts the NBA has seen. One that, as mentioned earlier looks a lot better than Michael Jordan’s $33 million one.
Michael Jordan may have earned $33 million in 1998, but Rodman’s deal was still better
Dennis Rodman may have earned only $4.5 million in base salary in 1998, but in many ways, his contract was still far better than Michael Jordan’s. It’s true Jordan earned a whopping $33 million that year, a record in the NBA for an annual salary that was only broken in 2018. However, the expectations of both men are what makes this interesting.
With $33 million in hand, MJ was expected to win it all and to perform night in and night out, as the GOAT should. Whereas, in The Worm’s case all he had to was show up.
At the end of the day, there can be no denying that MJ earned way more. But, playing at that level 24×7 isn’t easy. It makes the $4.5 million contingent on suiting up and playing the game sound far more enticing.
