MJ was ready to step in to change the fact Pippen was underpaid.
Scottie Pippen’s contract situation with the Chicago Bulls was the reason he left the team after The Last Dance—he had been complaining about being underpaid for years.
The Bulls tried to trade Pippen multiple times, but Michael Jordan was always the first to object to it. After all, Pippen was the best teammate MJ ever had, and he couldn’t have accomplished what he did without him. It turns out that Mike also wanted to help Scottie with his contract situation in Chicago.
“I wish there was some way legally that I could give him some of the money he totally deserved as a player,” said Jordan. “He’s totally underpaid.”
One of the worst contracts in NBA history
Pippen signed a five-year $18 million extension in 1991. However, the new deal did not erase the final two years of his rookie contract. And because he signed it during the 1991 NBA Finals, the amount was spread over eight years.
During the 1995-96 season, Scottie’s $2.9 million salary was ranked just 74th in the league. Considering he finished in the Top 7 in the MVP and Defensive Player of The Year race in the previous two seasons, everyone in the NBA agreed he was underpaid. But so was MJ.
Jordan signed an eight-year $25.7 million contract in 1988. During the 1995-96 season, he made only $3.85 million and was ranked just 32nd in the league.
Still, salary wasn’t Mike’s primary source of income; his endorsement deals were. Pippen didn’t have that revenue stream, which is why Jordan fought for his salary to rise.
“For years, I was underpaid, but I played it out,” added MJ. “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.”
Krause’s parting gift for Scottie
After The Last Dance, MJ’s wish for Pippen to get a new contract finally became a reality, however, only as a parting gift. The Bulls executed a sign-and-trade deal that enabled Scottie to earn $20 million more than if he signed an outright contract with another team. They then sent him to the Houston Rockets.
“In January, when the league was about to resume and free agents could be signed, Pippen’s agents asked us to do Scottie a favor. By doing a sign-and-trade with Houston, Scottie could get more than $20 million more than he could by just signing a straight-out contract,” Jerry Krause said. “Jerry (Reinsdorf) and I gave him his going-away present.”
Pippen—and Jordan, for that matter—continued criticizing the former Bulls GM years after leaving the organization. But despite the beef and bitterness, Jerry showed some respect to Pip by doing a sign-and-trade, even though most remember him for being the person who “destroyed the Bulls dynasty.”