Jordan's annual salary in the 97 season is 33.14 million, why is the second-in-command Pippen only 2.78 million? Is it a pay cut for the team?

There is no 24th in the rivers and lakes

2024-05-21 14:35Posted in Henan Sports Creator

As long as you mention the dynasty teams in history, you will inevitably think of the former Bulls, who achieved three consecutive championships twice in the 90s, and if it weren't for Jordan's retirement halfway, you can even imagine the grandeur of the Bulls winning eight championships in a row. And the reason why the Bulls were able to achieve so many achievements was not the credit of Jordan alone, the second leader Pippen also played a very important role in it, and the Bulls could not be so successful without him.

However, although Pippen also played a key role in the process of winning the championship, his treatment with Jordan is simply very different, especially in 1997, his annual salary was only 2.78 million, not to mention Jordan's annual salary of 33.14 million, he even had to rank behind the team's substitute player Kukoc. So why was the gap between Pippen and Jordan so big in the first place? Could it be that Pippen deliberately cut his salary in order to strengthen the team? Let's find out!

Pippen renewed his contract ahead of schedule, but the salary cap rose sharply later

In 1987, Pippen was selected by the SuperSonics with the 5th pick in the first round, and was then traded to the Bulls, and Pippen, who played off the regular season in his rookie season, fully demonstrated his potential on both offensive and defensive ends on the court, averaging 20.9 minutes per game and contributing 7.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals, and a total of 91 steals in the regular season is second only to Jordan in the team.

In the playoffs, Pippen replaced Brad Cyrus into the starting lineup, and with his help, the Bulls eliminated the Cavaliers in the first round to advance to the semifinals, and lost to the Pistons with a score of 1-4 in the second round, and Pippen averaged 10 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 29.4 minutes per game throughout the playoffs. Looking at this year's performance, Pippen can be said to have played quite well, and his annual salary that year was 730,000.

With Pippen's rise, the 1990-1991 season of the Bulls also ushered in the peak, that year they fought all the way to the end, eliminating the Lakers in the finals to lift the first championship trophy in team history. In the playoffs, Pippen averaged 21.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, shooting 50.4% from the field.

Originally from a slum in Arkansas, Pippen nearly cut off his basketball career when his father suffered a stroke in high school and lost his ability to speak. And because Pippen was born poor, when he learned that the team intended to sign a big contract with him after winning the championship, he was very excited, and he was eager to sign a stable long-term contract with the Bulls, only in this way can the family live a good life, so in the end, under the "brainwashing" of the Bulls general manager Klaus, Pippen signed a 7-year 18 million contract with the Bulls.

At the time, it seemed that this amount was not small, but considering that the NBA has been developing, and the future salary cap will be expected, so at that time, Jordan, as Pippen's big brother, advised the latter not to sign this long-term contract, but unfortunately Pippen did not listen to him. It turns out that what Jordan said is indeed right, but for Pippen, it is too late to regret it, so when he won the second triple championship, Pippen's highest annual salary was only 2.78 million in the year.

And Pippen is also more and more dissatisfied with his salary, and over time he and the Bulls management also have conflicts, plus in 1997 the team once wanted to trade Pippen to get the talented high school student Maddie who was ready to participate in the draft, which accelerated the breakdown of the relationship between the two parties, if it wasn't for Jordan to block the deal in the end, maybe the Bulls' second triple championship would be no play, after all, Maddie was still very young at that time.

The only class in the Influence League, Jordan used his privilege to sign a 30 million contract

In 1988, Jordan signed an 8-year contract with the Bulls, so when the Bulls won three consecutive championships in 1993, his annual salary was only 4 million, but at that time, the salary cap had not risen sharply, and his annual salary of 4 million was second only to Ewing of the Knicks in the league. Later, Jordan retired halfway, and his departure not only greatly reduced the strength of the Bulls, but also seriously affected the NBA's ratings, so even the league wanted Jordan to come back quickly.

And because in 1993 the NBA signed a four-year broadcast contract worth 892 million, the overall salary level of the players also rose, and in 1995, Ewing was also one of the biggest beneficiaries of this salary increase, he used the "Bird Clause" to break through the salary cap limit, and finally signed a one-year contract with the Knicks for 18.72 million.

Jordan made a comeback in the middle of the 1994-1995 season, but because his contract had not expired, his annual salary in 1995 and 1996 was only 3.85 million, which was far from ranking in the league. However, after leading the team to win the championship again in 1996, Jordan once again proved his strength, and he also became a free agent in the same year, and considering Jordan's strength and status, the Bulls are obviously unlikely to send him away with one or two million, but they did not rush to renew Jordan's contract, but let him test the free market first, and told Jordan that no matter how big the contract is, the team will match, this move seems to give Jordan more opportunities, but in fact, the Bulls are afraid that their bid is too high, So let's see how much Jordan is worth in the eyes of other teams.

At that time, the Knicks also wanted to get Jordan, but due to the restrictions of the salary cap, they could only give up to 15 million, but this was obviously not enough, so the Knicks wanted to compensate Jordan from other aspects, and they gave Jordan another 15 million Sheraton commercial endorsement contract, and if he was not satisfied, the Knicks could continue to endorse him. After the Bulls learned about the Knicks, they had no choice but to bleed profusely, and finally signed Jordan back for 30 million.

Obviously, the money spent by the Bulls is not a loss, Jordan, who got a big contract in 1997, helped the team win a championship again, and after becoming a free agent again in the offseason, this time the Bulls did not hesitate and directly offered a big contract of 33.14 million a year, so Jordan has also become the only Mr. 30 million in the league for two consecutive seasons, in fact, only his strength was worthy of this price at that time.

However, after three consecutive championships in 1998, Jordan did not continue to renew his contract with the Bulls, he chose to retire for the second time, and then he was also a base salary in the two years when the Wizards returned. It is worth mentioning that since 1998, it was not until the 2013-2014 season that the NBA once again had a player with an annual salary of more than 30 million, and Kobe Bryant ranked first in the league with an annual salary of 3045 that year.

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