Before joining the Chicago Bulls in 1995, Dennis Rodman was a nightmare for Bulls players as part of the ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons. His aggressive defensive prowess and tactics helped him win two championships for Detroit in 1988 and 1989. After joining the Bulls, Rodman once again helped his former rival team win three championships in a row. But, despite bringing such defensive vigor for Chicago, his off-court relationship with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen was rather cold. Despite earning $89,180,000 cumulatively with MJ and Pippen, Rodman admitted that the trio would never speak to each other off the court or after games.
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Breaking down the aforementioned figure, we need to look at the individual earnings of the Bulls’ special trio. From 1995-98, MJ earned a total of $67,130,000 while Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman earned $7,950,000 and $14,100,000 respectively. The linkup and chemistry between the trio were such phenomenal, no one would ever believe they did not translate the same chemistry off the court.
Dennis Rodman reveals he never spoke to Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan while playing for the Chicago Bulls
Dennis Rodman, in an interview with Graham Bensinger, made a shocking revelation about how he has a cold relationship with his Bulls’ teammates Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The trio was much appreciated by fans and analysts for their almost perfect on-court chemistry. However, off the court, they would hardly even talk to each other. Revealing further, Rodman said:
“Well, I think it was important for me to go there and win. Me and Scottie, and Michael, never had a conversation in three years in Chicago. Only time we had a conversation is on the court. That was it. And nobody believes that. I said well, only people I had a conversation with was probably Jud Buechler, Randy Brown, Steve Kerr, and Luc Longley, and other players. But me, Michael, and Scottie, we never had conversation off the court.”
Much later, in an interview with DJ Vlad, Rodman admitted his appreciation for Scottie Pippen over Michael Jordan. Rodman believes that Scottie Pippen played a much more crucial role in winning championships for the Bulls, compared to Jordan. Despite not speaking to Pippen, Rodman shared the same animosity as him against Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan once negotiated for Pippen and Rodman to be paid more
Although Rodman would never speak to MJ, Jordan always had his back for his teammates. The Bulls administration in the ’90s decade was notorious for underpaying their star players. Michael Jordan was finally able to receive a $30,000,000 cheque annually in 1996, after years of being underpaid. However, he tried negotiating a similar contract for his teammates Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman as well.
Speaking to the reporters in 1997, Jordan jokingly remarked he would pay Pippen $75,000,000 raise and Rodman a $25,000,000 raise if he were in charge of the Bulls. Additionally, he would pay himself $50,000,000 annually, which would be a $20,000,000 raise from his existing salary.
