@kjayhawks
We have to put Jordan’s earnings into the context of the salary cap while he played. The cap in his final year with Chicago (1997-98) was about $27M. Jordan was able to get $30M that year because of an exception that allowed the Bulls to spend more to retain one specific player.
Prior to his last two years with Chicago, he never made more than $4.5M in a season. Putting that into context, the veterans minimum today is a little over $2M per year, so Jordan made less than that through the early part of his career because everyone in the League (except Bird and Magic) made less than that.
That’s what makes the Pippen deal stick out so much. It’s not just that it was low, it’s that it was low enough that the Bulls were able to pay Kukoc and Rodman more than they would have if Pippen had gotten a market value deal, and there’s almost no way the Bulls could have fit Ron Harper under the cap with the rest of those guys.
Instead, they would have been using a late round draft pick rookie, or starting Steve Kerr (a solid player, no doubt), but with an inexperienced young player coming off the bench with no Ron Harper (no cap room to sign him), and possible either no Kukoc or no Rodman (Kukoc could have left in free agency after 1995 or 1996, Rodman was brought in as a free agent prior to the 1996 season).
It changes how they can build out their team. Pippen under market value was a huge benefit to the Bulls, and specifically to Jordan’s career and legacy. Imagine Pippen leaving Chicago after the 1995 season for more money with a Western Conference contender, having already won three titles.
That changes everything.
