In 1988, Michael Jordan signed an eight-year deal with the Chicago Bulls worth $25,700,000. Earning an average of $3,212,5000 per year, as time went on, Jordan became increasingly frustrated with his contract. Much like his former teammate Scottie Pippen, MJ believed he deserved a lot more, especially, considering how much he was bringing into the game. However, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf wasn’t keen to renegotiate the deal. And, as revealed in the book, The Jordan Rules, he instead tried to cut His Airness in on investments, when the latter approached him in 1991 to renegotiate.
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MJ wasn’t happy with some of the moves the Bulls were making in the off-season. In particular, the acquisition of Toni Kukoc did not sit well with Jordan at all. In fact, he informed his agent, David Falk, that he would request a trade if Chicago used any of its extra salary space to sign the Croatian baller. Showing just how unhappy he was with his contract situation at the time.
Michael Jordan tried to renegotiate his $25,700,000 contract, only for a hesitant Jerry Reinsdorf to cut him in on investments
Back in 1991, Michael Jordan was unhappy with his contract with the Chicago Bulls. Serving just the fourth year of his eight-year contract, Jordan wanted to renegotiate the deal. However, Bulls owner, Jerry Reinsdorf was not interested in any sort of renegotiation. But, MJ, being the superstar that he was insisted.
So, in order to deal with Jordan’s request, Reinsdorf came up with an ingenious plan. Instead of handing His Airness a new contract, he decided to cut him in on some of his investments. Given how good the investments were, Renisdorf was hoping that the yields would distract Michael from any discussion surrounding renegotiating his deal.
It was a viable option, or at least that is what the Bulls owner believed. But, as revealed in Sam Smith’s book, the NBA found out about this, and immediately took action. They informed Reinsdorf that any profits Jordan received from the investments would count under the team’s salary cap. Thus, putting an end to his scheme.
“Reinsdorf was trying to put off renegotiating Jordan’s contract by cutting him in on some investment, but the league got wind of the plans and said that any such profits Jordan received would count under the Bulls’ salary cap unless Jordan had invested his own money.”
Seven years later, MJ finally managed to get a new deal from the Bulls. And, this time, it was far more lucrative, with him earning close to $30,000,000 per year.
Jerry Reinsdorf continued to pay MJ his Bulls salary even during his two-year hiatus from basketball
In 1993, a few months after the NBA Finals, Michael Jordan announced his first retirement from the NBA. Following his father’s passing, MJ couldn’t imagine playing basketball without him there. So, instead, he decided to take up his father’s favorite sport, baseball. However, the Chicago Bulls didn’t forget his contributions to the team.
As such, while he played baseball for the Birmingham Barons, Jerry Reinsdorf decided to continue paying Jordan the $3,212,500. One because it was a measly amount, and two, because of how he revolutionized the team.
They may have had a lot of conflicts over the years with regard to his contract, but for the most part, Reinsdorf did a great job as an owner. He took care of his superstars and in turn, this led to the city of Chicago winning six championships.
