Another valuable piece of NBA history has been put up for auction - Michael Jordan's $33 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.
There are plenty of reasons why it is expected to rake in thousands of dollars. First, it involved the greatest player in the history of the NBA and it was personally signed by Michael himself. Second, it was Jordan's last contract with the Bulls which was completed by the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat championship title. Third, it also contained the signatures of former Chicago Bulls general manager, Jerry Krause and financial expert, Irwin Mandel. Fourth, the contract is the largest ever in the NBA.
According to ESPN, the contract was worth $33 million to cover the 1997-1998 NBA season. Taking into consideration inflation rates, the contract will now be worth about $49 million. Heritage Auctions, the auction house responsible for the bidding, estimated that the document will garner at least $30,000. The bidding is still going on and will close on the night of July 31, 2014. The current bid is over $28,000.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions of Heritage Auctions, said, "It's hard to compare this to anything we've sold. It's Jordan, who is in a class by himself, and, to our knowledge, this is the only Jordan playing contract to ever surface." The source of the document preferred to stay anonymous and actually purchased it for under $1,000 in a charity auction in 2000.
Other contracts by the greatest players in the world also sold at significant sums. Babe Ruth's contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1918 was worth $5,000 and sold in an auction earlier in July 2014 for $1.02 million. Wayne Gretzky's rookie contract with the Edmonton Oilers, which was worth $3 million for a span of 10 years, was auctioned at $47,800. It contained Gretzky's signature, signed on the superstars' 18th birthday.
Pro Basketball Talk reported that the contract is composed of 24 pages, with each page signed by Jordan with his initials. It also included a letter by Irwin Mandel addressed to the NBA.
As for the $33 million, Jordan played at a time when teams were not bothered by salary caps. Before, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were paid close to $30 million until the NBA decided to limit team salaries to prevent the creation of super teams. Also, the Chicago Bulls had to pay Jordan more at the peak of his career after he had to deal with much lower salaries during his first decade with the team.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
