Michael Jordan was easily the best player in the NBA in the 1990s and his massive contract proves it with its value beating out even current day players like LeBron James.
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Winning six championships, five MVP awards, and countless other NBA accolades really put Jordan on top of the NBA world as that kind of dominance was unprecendented at the time. What Jordan had done was legendary, and no other star could touch him.
Jordan would eventually retire for the second time in his career much after his Bulls days, but there was no doubt about the legacy he had left on the city and the NBA. There wasn’t going to be a second Michael Jordan for a long time.
The craziest part is, he never got paid like that though. At least not till his final two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, the highest contract at the time and now.
Michael Jordan Would Beat Out LeBron James And Steph Curry In Contract Value
So, how exactly would Jordan have a higher contract than some of the highest paid players in the league right now? The top ten list of average salaries right now is absolutely incredible in terms of value.
Steph Curry tops the list with a $45.7 million value for 2021-22 while James Harden slots in at number two with a #44.3 million value for next year.
LeBron James is number six on the list earning $41.1 next season. You can check out the entire top ten list here, but the fact remains that Jordan’s contract would beat out all of these superstars.
In Jordan’s final year with the Bulls he signed a contract that would give him $33.1 for the year. If you adjust that number for inflation, Jordan’s contract would be worth $55.2 million today. That tops Curry’s contract by almost $10 million.
Jordan’s contract was absurd at the time as well. How crazy is that? Well, consider the fact that Jordan accounted for more than half of the Bulls’ player’s salaries that year which stood at $61.3 million and was making almost nine times as much as the next highest paid players on the team (Toni Kukoc, Ron Harper and Dennis Rodman at $4.5 million).
Jordan certainly deserved the contract, but it also became a source of contention between him and owner Jerry Reinsdorf who said he regretted giving Jordan that much. However, this adds on to Jordan’s legacy if anything, knowing that he would still be the highest paid player in the league if you took his contract with the Bulls and adjusted for inflation.
The legend of ‘His Airness’ continues to grow and gets cemented further and further with every new story that comes about him.
