Scottie Pippen was underpaid almost his whole career – but he still did manage to make a decent living out of his time in the NBA.
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120 million is not a number to be scoffed at in any context – but knowing that Scottie Pippen only made this much despite playing in the league for 15 seasons is criminal. A man of his caliber made lesser than 10 million dollars a year on average is just wrong. but 120 million is 120 million, whether you earn it in one year, or 15.
So when Scottie read excerpts from tabloids claiming that he was broke, he was livid. It all started with an article by CNBC.com titled “15 Athletes Gone Bankrupt,” stating Pippen lost 120 million dollars, including 4+ million on a private jet. When the others picked up on this, it spread like wildfire. His sponsors were pulling back their deals because of this.
He came out to the public and said it was not the case, and sued all these outlets that spread the news for 10 million dollars. The case went on for 3 years, and the Supreme Court finally came to the ruling that there was no case. The article may have grounds for termination of the member, but since there was no definite proof of malice against the athlete, it could not be awarded to him. Imagine your name dragged through the mud 2 times in 3 years.
Scottie Pippen was a fairly respected guy during his time in the league – but has not been away from controversy since his retirement
Every aspect of his life has come under the microscope after Scottie’s retirement. Be it his wife’s “entanglement”, Future’s claims, or his bank details going public, he was not away from the limelight. While his compatriots Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr, and Dennis Rodman were doing their own thing, Pippen was busy fighting them.
After the “Last Dance” was aired, Scottie came out with several controversial statements that make him look like he harbored those feelings for quite a while. He came out and said Jordan is not the best, even though he wore his shoes and played with him for six championships. It looks like he was hurt for not getting paid the same level of money and respect as Jordan was.
Funny, because during his playing days, he never showed this feeling of resentment. But one can guess being called Robin to MJ’s batman all these years despite being one of the best players to ever live weighs on you. It is true that Jordan did lobby for higher wages for his friend, but not until he was making 30 million himself. Pippen’s 120 million net worth could have been a lot more, was he paid what he was worth.
