Sometimes I wonder how contracts got so ridiculous

JordansBulls · Post #1 » by **JordansBulls** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:52 am

**Information taken from basketball-reference

This is what Magic Johnson made from 1979-1994

1979-80 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $500,000
1980-81 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $500,000
1981-82 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$1,000,000
1982-83 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$1,500,000
1983-84 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$2,000,000
1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,500,000
1985-86 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,500,000
1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$2,500,000
1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,500,000
1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $3,142,860
1989-90 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$2,771,430
1990-91 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,400,000
1991-92 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,500,000
1992-93 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,500,000
1993-94 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,500,000

This was MJ's salary yearly 1984-1996

1984-85 Chicago Bulls NBA $550,000
1985-86 Chicago Bulls NBA $630,000
1986-87 Chicago Bulls NBA *$737,500
1987-88 Chicago Bulls NBA $845,000
1988-89 Chicago Bulls NBA $2,000,000
1989-90 Chicago Bulls NBA *$2,250,000
1990-91 Chicago Bulls NBA $2,500,000
1991-92 Chicago Bulls NBA $3,250,000
1992-93 Chicago Bulls NBA $4,000,000
1993-94 Chicago Bulls NBA $4,000,000
1994-95 Chicago Bulls NBA $3,850,000
1995-96 Chicago Bulls NBA $3,850,000

This was Larry Bird's salary yearly from 1979-1991

1979-80 Boston Celtics NBA $650,000
1980-81 Boston Celtics NBA $650,000
1981-82 Boston Celtics NBA *$937,500
1982-83 Boston Celtics NBA *$1,225,000
1983-84 Boston Celtics NBA *$1,512,500
1984-85 Boston Celtics NBA $1,800,000
1985-86 Boston Celtics NBA $1,800,000
1986-87 Boston Celtics NBA *$1,800,000
1987-88 Boston Celtics NBA $1,800,000
1988-89 Boston Celtics NBA $1,800,000
1989-90 Boston Celtics NBA *$1,650,000
1990-91 Boston Celtics NBA $1,500,000

This was Hakeem salary from 1984-1995

1984-85 Houston Rockets NBA $780,000
1985-86 Houston Rockets NBA $882,500
1986-87 Houston Rockets NBA *$1,167,583
1987-88 Houston Rockets NBA $1,452,666
1988-89 Houston Rockets NBA $1,677,666
1989-90 Houston Rockets NBA *$2,426,333
1990-91 Houston Rockets NBA $3,175,000
1991-92 Houston Rockets NBA $3,170,000
1992-93 Houston Rockets NBA $3,170,000
1993-94 Houston Rockets NBA $3,170,000
1994-95 Houston Rockets NBA $3,169,900

This was Kareem's salary from 1970-1989

1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks NBA $249,996
1971-72 Milwaukee Bucks NBA *$312,498
1972-73 Milwaukee Bucks NBA $375,000
1973-74 Milwaukee Bucks NBA $400,000
1974-75 Milwaukee Bucks NBA *$450,000
1975-76 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$500,000
1976-77 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$550,000
1977-78 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$600,000
1978-79 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $650,000
1979-80 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$825,000
1980-81 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $1,000,000
1981-82 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$1,132,500
1982-83 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$1,265,000
1983-84 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$1,397,500
1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $1,530,000
1985-86 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,030,000
1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers NBA *$2,015,000
1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $2,000,000
1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $3,000,000

Now those guys were worth what they were getting.
Nowadays you got mediocore players making 12+ million a year and they are complaining.

Why should someone like Luol Deng or Ben Gordon get 10+ million and never have made an allstar team?
Why should guys get 15+ million and never done anything in the playoffs?

Salaries in the NBA have gotten out of control and 99% of these guys don't deserve what they are making.

BobbySura · Post #2 » by **BobbySura** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:04 am

times change. the nba was given a nice boom after those players you named and could afford to give bigger contracts.

magicfan4life05 · Post #3 » by **magicfan4life05** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:09 am

Post #4 » by **miller31time** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:11 am

Globalization, inflation, merchandise sales and many more factors are involved.

Post #5 » by **dockingsched** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:18 am

1996-97 Chicago Bulls NBA $30,140,000
1997-98 Chicago Bulls NBA $33,140,000

its his fault

Red Robot · Post #6 » by **Red Robot** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:20 am

The players as a group are contractually entitled to at least 57% of league revenue.

Revenue has increased, so salaries have too.

Anticon · Post #7 » by **Anticon** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:29 am

It doesn't really bother me how much the players make as long as it doesn't screw up the team's chances of winning. If that means paying a 7th mand 4 million, then so be it.

Just be grateful the NBA doesn't have those horrible 10 year deals like you see in hockey. I can't believe they allow those.

SmoothKobra · Post #8 » by **SmoothKobra** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:36 am

dcash4 wrote:1996-97 Chicago Bulls NBA $30,140,000
1997-98 Chicago Bulls NBA $33,140,000

its his fault

Yep..interesting how those two years were left out.

Ming Kong! · Post #9 » by **Ming Kong!** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:52 am

No, it's certainly not inflation.

What cost $1,000.00 in 1987 would cost $1867.56 in 2007.

I got this from: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

Ferrari pays Kimi Räikkönen $51M per year. Fernando Alonso makes $40M with McLaren.

Soccer players also make a ton of money. They get a chunk of the transfer fee, which is usually huge for superstars, like £46 M, which is equal to $91,940,000. On top of this they make huge yearly salaries, and not to mention endorsement deals.

Players just seem to market themselves MUCH better now.

erudite23 · Post #10 » by **erudite23** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:02 am

Its more a result of the NBA brand blowing up on the world wide scene. Revenues have gone throught the roof, and so have salaries....HOWEVER, what I don't understand is why the hell the owners aren't able to get a better deal off of the players as far as gross revenue goes. Most teams in the NBA are not profitable. That is insane. This is a huge cash cow, there are millions upon millions of paying customers clamoring for the product.....and most franchises struggle to turn a profit. Only the really big market teams who also do well with self advertising and peripheral revenue streams really make that much. Its a huge problem, and one that doesn't have a simple solution. I think the best thing to do is find a way to kill all those guaranteed contracts. That would completely change the face of the NBA as we know it.

Puertorique · Post #11 » by **Puertorique** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:36 am

It has to do with the owners making so much money off of the players in todays NBA. The big money players that became FA's during that boom realized how much owners were getting from them and asked for a nice pay back in return. Im not saying that some of the players should get what they do, but hey that's the NBA now.

Post #12 » by **studcrackers** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:49 am

Anticon wrote:It doesn't really bother me how much the players make as long as it doesn't screw up the team's chances of winning. If that means paying a 7th mand 4 million, then so be it.

Just be grateful the NBA doesn't have those horrible 10 year deals like you see in hockey. I can't believe they allow those.

the only guys that are getting the 10 year deals in hockey are the best players in the league, and still the top players in hockey are still getting paid like 10-11 million a year and thats only a few guys

Nashty · Post #13 » by **Nashty** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:54 am

Anticon wrote:Just be grateful the NBA doesn't have those horrible 10 year deals like you see in hockey. I can't believe they allow those.

You've got to be kidding me. Vincent Lecavalier just signed an 11 year 85 mill contract. Arenas just signed a 6 year 111 mill contract.

Post #14 » by **dflash3** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:58 am

I don't have a problem with it since I'm not losing any money and wouldn't be getting any of it if the players were paid less. I'm actually happy players are able to enter the league and make millions since I know if I were in their position I'd want to be in the same situation.

DEEP3CL · Post #15 » by **DEEP3CL** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:43 am

dcash4 wrote:1996-97 Chicago Bulls NBA $30,140,000
1997-98 Chicago Bulls NBA $33,140,000

its his fault

I was going to mention the same thing dcash but you beat me to it. Believe it or not that was the first of the insane contracts.

DEEP3CL · Post #16 » by **DEEP3CL** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:50 am

Puertorique wrote:It has to do with the owners making so much money off of the players in todays NBA. The big money players that became FA's during that boom realized how much owners were getting from them and asked for a nice pay back in return. Im not saying that some of the players should get what they do, but hey that's the NBA now.

And that's what led to the lock out before the 1998-99 season. The owners were making way more then they led the players to believe. That's why they asked for profits on licensing products and other revenues during talks. And I'm calling it here first expect another lock out when the CBA expires in 2011.

ljp24 · Post #17 » by **ljp24** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:15 am

-------------------------------------------------
inappropriate
-thief

JordansBulls · Post #18 » by **JordansBulls** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:41 pm

dcash4 wrote:1996-97 Chicago Bulls NBA $30,140,000
1997-98 Chicago Bulls NBA $33,140,000

its his fault

Actually Ewing made this amount below in 1996 when MJ had never made more than $4 million

1995-96 New York Knickerbockers NBA $18,724,000

Frosty · Post #19 » by **Frosty** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:18 pm

When you have a salaries being only limited by league revenues it can get insane quickly.

"David Stern: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson got it started, but Michael Jordan turned the NBA into a multibillion-dollar corporation. Average player salaries have increased from $275,000 in 1983-84, the season before Jordan entered the league, to $4.5 million this season. Likewise, television rights fees have increased from the millions to billions. When CBS Sports' four-year, $173 million deal expired in 1989, NBC purchased four years of rights for $600 million. ESPN and ABC's new deal, which began this season, is worth $2.4 billion over four years. Stern makes a healthy salary as the league's CEO, reportedly earning more than $7 million annually for the past five years. "

Blame Rasho · Post #20 » by **Blame Rasho** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:36 pm

Ming Kong! wrote:No, it's certainly not inflation.

What cost $1,000.00 in 1987 would cost $1867.56 in 2007.

I got this from: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

Ferrari pays Kimi Räikkönen $51M per year. Fernando Alonso makes $40M with McLaren.

Soccer players also make a ton of money. They get a chunk of the transfer fee, which is usually huge for superstars, like £46 M, which is equal to $91,940,000. On top of this they make huge yearly salaries, and not to mention endorsement deals.

Players just seem to market themselves MUCH better now.

Honestly you might want to check/analyze what you are saying.

Inflation has had significant part along with the CBA's that have been made.

We are conditioned to think that anything less than 1 million is nothing.

The NBA was much smaller in the global landscape 20 years ago. So many TV deals, jersys sold, etc. Players got a much bigger parts of the pies once the new and ratified CBA's were agreeded to.