The disparity in NBA salaries from the 80s and 90s to today is unarguably astronomical. The amount of money a role player gets today in the NBA would likely be more than the highest-paid players of that era. And a four-time NBA champion, who played with Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and Shaquille O?Neal, admitted that he is jealous of NBA players today.

John Salley is a four-time NBA champion who started his career with the Detroit Pistons. He was an integral part of the ‘Bad Boys’ that won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990. Later in his career, he joined Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and won another title with them. And then he went to the Los Angeles Lakers to team up with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and won a title there as well.

And throughout his 12-year NBA career, Salley earned a salary of around $15.5 million. In context, the highest-paid player in the NBA this year will earn a little over $48 million.

Salley admits he’s jealous of today’s players despite playing with Michael Jordan

Salley was recently on Byron Scott’s podcast where he talked about playing with Jordan, winning four titles, and other projects he was part of. And at one point he was talking about how much today’s players get paid.

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He said,” My contract was big. I had $230,000… I didn?t have no money. Dudes are spending that now on cars. This guy with 10 cars, and six of them cost what I got paid my whole year… And they don’t even drive.”?

The difference is salaries of the two eras are not just at the top of the NBA. Sometimes the biggest stars of the NBA used to get what role players get today. And the average salary has increased multiple times over the years.

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And this was all possible with the increase in the salary cap and the increased revenue that the NBA generates. Today’s salaries are astronomical and star players now sign contracts over $200 million as seen with Nikola Jokic, who recently signed the largest contract in NBA history with the Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry became the first player two sign two $200 million deals in 2021. And the day a person signs the first $300 million contract is arguably not far off.

What do you think of NBA player’s salaries in the league today? Share your thoughts in the comments below.