Just think back to when Jordan tested the waters of free agency.
What a sensation it caused. The Entire League was scrambling to get Jordan.
The deep-pocketed Knicks even handed Jordan a blank check.
Fill in whatever amount you like. I won't haggle.
It was hard to imagine a higher tribute to Jordan's status.
In the end, Jordan re-signed with the Bulls for an astronomical $30 million contract.
Earning $30 million a year in the '90s was an absolutely super contract.
After all, the salary cap back then was only $24.36 million.
Jordan's annual salary alone exceeded the salary cap. That showed just how huge his contract was.
Let's clear up a misconception here.
A lot of people have explained that Jordan's salary could exceed the salary cap because the Entire League's owners agreed to make an exception for him, allowing his salary not to count against the team's total payroll. That was supposedly how he got his astronomical contract.
That wasn't what happened.
Jordan's salary didn't count against the total payroll because he had Bird Rights.
There were plenty of other players with Bird Rights back then, such as Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller.
And back then, there was no such thing as a luxury tax.
For players with Bird Rights, their salaries didn't count against the salary cap.
So an owner could offer those players with Bird Rights a billion dollars, as long as he could afford it.
Since Wang Yi hadn't immediately signed with the Kings after free agency opened, the other teams hadn't made any moves either.
They all thought they had a chance to land Wang Yi.
But to get him, they'd need a lot of cap space. If they made moves now and Wang Yi agreed to sign with them, only for them