How was Scottie Pippen's net worth impacted by his infamous Chicago Bulls contract of $18 million?
Scottie Pippen had a legendary career with the Chicago Bulls. Known as one of the best two-way players of all-time, Pippen was named on both the 50th and 75th NBA Anniversary Teams.
Here's taking a look at how the Hall of Famer's net worth was impacted by his contract with the Bulls.
Scottie Pippen plays under the NBA's worst contract
Scottie Pippen's rookie contract was set to expire following the 1990-1991 season, in which he won the first of six championships with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were able to keep Pippen with a 7-year, $18 million contract.
The starting salary of $2,770,000 made Pippen the 16th highest paid player in the NBA in 1991-1992. This seemed like fair value for a player who, at the time, had made just one All-Star Team and one All-Defensive Team, but had yet to be named to an All-NBA Team. While the deal seemed like a long commitment on Pippen's end, the soon-to-be 26-year-old couldn't have predicted what would happen next.
Pippen broke out under his new deal as he made the All-NBA Team in all seven seasons. He also made the All-Star Team the first six seasons of his contract, while appearing on the All-Defensive Team for the next nine seasons. Additionally, over that same time span, NBA contracts exploded.
While Pippen went from being the 16th highest-paid player to the eighth highest in the second year of his new deal, he dropped to 24th in year three, and 91st in year four. By year five, he had climbed to the 74th highest-paid player, however he was out of the top-100 altogether in the final two seasons of the contract, coming in at 128th and 122nd, respectively.
Furthermore, Scottie Pippen was just the sixth highest-paid player on the Chicago Bulls roster over those final two seasons. Pippen helped the Bulls win the championship five times over the course of his contract as the second-most important player after Michael Jordan on those title teams.
Check out some of Scottie Pippen's best early career highlights below:
Scottie Pippen's net worth impacted by his Chicago Bulls contract
Scottie Pippen ended up making over $100 million, largely thanks to the five-year $67.2 million contract he signed following the 1997-1998 season. His decision to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls for seven years, however, impacted his net worth. While his All-NBA contemporaries were making upwards of $10 million, Pippen was being paid less than role players and even rookies.
While the Bulls were hesitant to give Pippen a pay rise prior to the 1997-1998 season, that would not have been the case if he had signed a shorter deal. Not only would Pippen have been much younger, but the Bulls wouldn't be able to risk losing such an integral part of their championship identity.
Pippen's current net worth is reportedly $20 million. The Hall of Fame player fell in with a bad financial advisor after retirement, costing him over $20 million. The financial advisor wound up being sentenced to three years in prison for bank fraud. One of his charges included forging Pippen's signature for $1.4 million to pay off his personal debts.
Check out Scottie Pippen's top ten dunks below: