Michael Jordan has amassed a fortune of over $3.2 billion but made most of his money through his unique deal with Nike. Despite being the best player in the league for almost a decade, he wasn’t among the highest-paid until his final two seasons with the Bulls. However, he wasn’t bothered about the number on the pay cheques he received from his team.
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In a 1986 interview with Sports Illustrated, Jordan claimed he couldn’t care less about the money he was being paid. He addressed the conversations about him being underpaid, saying,
“Money is nothing to me. People say I’m underpaid, but that’s not a big issue. I’m playing.”
At the time, Jordan was on his rookie deal and earning only $900,000 per season on average, slightly more than 1/3rd of what Magic Johnson, the league’s highest-paid player in 1986, earned annually.
However, Jordan wasn’t driven by money and was fixated on playing and winning. He even had the Bulls insert a “love of the game” clause in his contract, which allowed him to play any scrimmage or exhibition game he wished.
With teams always paranoid about their star players getting hurt playing in an unofficial game, the clause was astonishing. Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was even quoted saying, “I would never offer that (clause) to another player.”
However, Jordan managed to have it inserted into his contract, which was seemingly a fair trade given how underpaid he was.
Michael Jordan’s career earnings in salary
Per Spotrac, Jordan signed a seven-year, $6.3 million deal with the Bulls after they picked him third overall in the 1984 NBA draft. Only four years in, the franchise handed him an eight-year, $25.7 million contract extension, which he gladly accepted.
While Jordan earned $3.2 million on average from 1988 to 1996, NBA salaries skyrocketed. In the 1995-96 season, the guard won his fourth title in six seasons with the Bulls and was still on the same deal he signed in 1988. Meanwhile, his Eastern Conference rival Patrick Ewing earned $18.7 million in that campaign, nearly six times more than what the five-time MVP was paid.
However, things changed in the 1996 offseason. The Bulls handed Jordan a one-year, $30,140,000 to compensate for all the years he was underpaid. The following offseason, he signed another one-year deal that cost Chicago $33,140,000.
Jordan’s salary in his final year with the Bulls was the record for the highest amount paid to a player for a single season for 20 years. Stephen Curry’s $34.6 million salary for the 2017-18 season surpassed Jordan’s record.
The six-time NBA champion’s final NBA contract was the two-year, $2.03 million deal he signed with the Wizards in 2001. He earned $93.9 million in salary during his career, a substandard number considering contract values today.
However, his endorsement deals, investments, and Jordan Brand have helped him amass a personal fortune that ranks #1 all-time among athletes. It’s safe to assume Jordan has no regrets about the contracts he signed with the Bulls.
