Posts about NBA
Per Basketball Reference, Michael Jordan earned $33,140,000.00 in the 1997-1998 NBA season. Adjusted for inflation, this salary would be $62,032,590.55 today (source 1; source 2). According to spotrac, no player earned more than $48,070,014 (Steph Curry) during the 2022-2023 season. In fact, no player is currently slated to surpass Jordan's total other than Damian Lillard, who is projected to earn $63,228,828 in 2026-2027. (This, however, may change as other players sign extensions and as inflation and salary cap increases continue to impact player salaries.) Even as unadjusted salaries have skyrocketed in the past several decades, Jordan, therefore, significantly out-earned current NBA stars' salaries back in 1997-1998.
Some historically notable cases:
Player | Peak Earning Year | Unadjusted USD | 2023 USD | '23 Salary Comp |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magic Johnson | 1988-1989 | $3,142,860.00 | $7,733,184.45 | Patrick Williams |
Larry Bird | 1991-1992 | $7,070,000.00 | $15,375,057.95 | Luguentz Dort |
Michael Jordan | 1997-1998 | $33,140,000.00 | $62,032,590.55 | N/A |
Kevin Garnett | 2003-2004 | $28,000,000.00 | $45,225,262.04 | LeBron James |
Shaquille O'Neal | 2004-2005 | $27,696,430.00 | $43,268,971.12 | Bradley Beal |
Latrell Sprewell | 2004-2005 | $14,625,000.00 | $22,848,024.19 | Mike Conley |
Kobe Bryant | 2013-2014 | $30,453,805.00 | $39,249,332.55 | Kyrie Irving |