Comments made by NBA legend Michael Jordan over the compensation of former Chicago Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen have resurfaced, with the man largely regarded as the best-ever basketball player saying he wished his teammate was better paid.
The duo were arguably the best in the history of the league as the pair helped the Bulls to winning six championships across eight years between 1991 and 1998, terrorising defences throughout the United States.
In fact, prior to Pippen’s arrival to Chicago in 1987, Jordan hadn’t won a single championship having struggled to benefit from the quality of his teammates as well as his own.
Back in the 1991 offseason, Pippen made one of the worst decisions an athlete can make, signing a seven-year, $18million contract extension. Those seven years were the best of the American’s career but he only took home $2.57million per season.
During the 1996-1997 season, one of the best players in the league and arguably his best year, Pippen only earned $2.25million. In the same campaign, Jordan earned an eye-watering $30.14million.
A few years into the contract and Jordan shared his sympathy for the Robin to his Batman. In an interview with reporter Cheryl Raye-Stout, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard revealed that he wished to pay Scottie out of his own contract. Calling out the Bulls to reward him with a fair deal after the end of the contract, Jordan said: “I wish there was some way legally that I could give him some of the money that he totally deserves as a player. He’s totally underpaid. For years, I was underpaid, but I played it out, and I think he’s going to play it out too. At the end of three years, I hope they reward him with a just and fair contract.”
In 1997, a similar conversation was had between Jordan and a reporter with the NBA legend dissatisfied with general manager Jerry Krause’s plans to rebuild the Bulls whilst also underpaying the likes of Pippen.
When asked by the reporter what he would do if he ran the franchise, Jordan joked that he would pay himself $50,000,000, give coach Phil Knight $50,000,000, hand Pippen a cool $75,000,000, and leave teammate Dennis Rodman with $25,000,000 because of his tight budget.
