Shaquille O'Neal calls Magic Johnson's $25 million contract for 25 years as the worst ever in NBA history
Shaquille O'Neal took to social media recently and reacted to Magic Johnson's 25-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers back in the mid-80s.
The NBA Hall of Famer posted a story on Instagram and criticized the Lakers' decision to offer Johnson such a long-term extension:
"How was that even legal?" Shaquille O'Neal wondered on his Instagram story, calling this deal the worst ever in NBA history.
Magic Johnson spent his entire 13-year career with the Lakers, earning a total of around $40 million. This amount of money was well below his status as a superstar player, and way below today's standard contracts, where NBA superstars earn $40 million or more on an annual basis.
For his part, Shaq agreed to a seven-year, $120 million deal with the Lakers back in 1996, which means he earned around $17 million per year between 1996 and 2004.
Magic Johnson explains why he signed the 25-year extension with the Lakers
Johnson helped the Lakers stay on top of the NBA world in the 80s and create a rivalry with the Boston Celtics and fellow NBA legend Larry Bird.
Johnson earned between $1 and $3 million per year during his time in Los Angeles, but in 1981, he signed an unprecedented contract extension with the 17-time NBA champions.
The deal would run from 1984 up until 2009 for a total of $25 million, which meant he would earn $1 million per year. This was, and still remains, the longest contract extension in NBA and Lakers' history.
It was clear, though, that Johnson was underpaid with the new deal, not only when compared to his teammates but also his fellow superstars in the league. After many years, Johnson explained why he decided to sign the contract extension even if it would offer him less money:
"I have to be paid what the other top players are being paid. If I’m paid like they are, I’ll be happy and everything will be fine. I don’t want to renegotiate now; all I want to do is win the championship. But I do want to be paid what I think I deserve," Magic Johnson told Jimmy Kimmel a year ago.
"It was great because, you know, I grew up poor my whole life. So to get a million dollars a year was outstanding but it changed the dynamic of the team. They thought that now, I was part of management instead of being just a Laker player."
Magic Johnson won the NBA championship five times. He was the NBA Finals MVP three times and the NBA MVP three times as well. In the late 2010s, he became president of basketball operations of the Lakers for two years (2017-2019) without leading the franchise to the title.
Meanwhile, Shaquille O'Neal spent eight years with the Lakers, winning three titles in a row from 2000 to 2002 and had the chance to win another one, but lost to the Detroit Pistons in 2004. The "Big Diesel" then moved to the Miami Heat and won another NBA title in 2006.