During the 1997-1998 season, the Chicago Bulls paid Michael Jordan $33.1 million. Factoring for inflation, that still makes the GOAT the highest-paid NBA star ever.
Advertisement
People who saw Michael Jordan play ball during the early 1980s and the 1990s consider him a basketball god. Easily one of the greatest players to ever set foot on the NBA hardwood, the Bulls guard was a sporting icon who had a massive influence on the millions of fans he had worldwide.
Over the span of his 15-year career, MJ racked up a ridiculously long list of achievements. A few accolades in his resume include 14 All-Star appearances, 11 All-NBA selections, 10 scoring titles, 5 MVPs, 6 championships, and 6 Finals MVPs, among many others.
Michael Jordan, today, is worth somewhere north of the $1.5 billion mark. Out of which, “His Airness” has earned merely $93 million as career earnings from his NBA contracts.
$93 million might not seem like a lot, however, if you consider his 1997-1998 season’s earnings and factor it for inflation, he’ll still be the highest-paid NBA star ever.
The $33 million Michael Jordan made in 1997-1998 would be worth $60 million today after factoring for inflation
In 1997-1998, while no other player on the Bulls was earning more than $5 million, MJ earned a stellar $33.14 million. This deal was worth more than the average team payroll at the time. It represented the highest single-season salary in league history all the way until 2017-18, with LeBron James and Stephen Curry surpassing it.
However, if we factor for inflation, Jordan’s $33.1 million would be worth $60 million today, making him the highest-paid NBA star for a season ever.
Factoring for inflation, the most an NBA player has been paid for a season was Michael Jordan, who made $33M in 1997-98.
That’s worth $60 million in today’s dollars.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 1, 2022
As soon as this stat went viral on social media, NBA Twitter blew up with reactions.
Even higher when you factor it as a % of the cap. Since the NBA cap back then was like 40 million.
— chris olson (@chrisolson23) July 1, 2022
Every NBA team should have been paying Jordan 2% of their cap for what he did for the NBA, same with Magic and Bird.
— Travis Hawkins ♿ (@TDHawk21) July 1, 2022
They had to rob Pippen to pay Jordan. $2,775,000 for Pippen in 97-98. https://t.co/UWNKo0Iw0j
— Braylon Sherfield 🏀 (@soicybray) July 1, 2022
That 1997-98 season, “His Airness” finished with 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Apart from getting selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team, Jordan even won the ASG MVP, his 5th MVP, a 6th title, and lifted the FMVP for the 6th time.
Looking back at it, MJ was definitely worth every penny of the insane contract.
Also Read: NBA Twitter reacts as Fred VanVleet channels his inner Michael Jordan
