Scottie Pippen was always Michael Jordan’s secondary option on the court. Although Pippen and Jordan were one of the most formidable duos in NBA history, his salary did not reflect his standing as a star player for the Chicago Bulls.
Although he earned over $100 million in salary throughout his 17-year NBA career, the 55-year-old’s current net worth is only approximately $20 million.
The main reason for this is because the former Bulls player lost over $20 million because he trusted a terrible financial counselor after he retired. Advisor received three-year prison term for bank fraud; Pippen never got his money back.
Child support payments have been a major drain on the former player’s finances.
The six-time NBA champion has four different mothers and seven children. Scotty Jr., Preston, Justin, and Sophia are all children he shares with his wife, Larsa Pippen. Yvette De Leon is the mother of Sierra, and Taylor was born to him and Sonya Roby. Sonya, the other twin of the latter, passed away when she was just nine days old.
Most underestimated sportsperson ever
Although all of these expenses have affected Scottie Pippen’s net worth, many consider him to also be one of the most underpaid players in NBA history.
The Seattle SuperSonics selected Pippen with the fifth overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, but they promptly moved him to the Chicago Bulls. He agreed to a four-year, $2.83 million contract with the team.
In 1991, the former 33 for the Bulls signed a seven-year, $18 million contract deal. This equated to a salary of $2.6 million annually, at a time when Jordan was making over $30 million in a single season.
Pippen agreed to a five-year, $67.2 million contract with the Houston Rockets in 1999. However, he only played one season with the Texas franchise, which paid him $11 million before switching his contract to the Portland TrailBlazers, where he received $66 million for four seasons.
Two years before his retirement, “Pip” returned to Chicago on a $10 million contract to finish off his career. When compared to Jordan’s final contracts, which were for $94 million, Pippen’s total earnings of $109 million were significantly higher.
In 2023, “Air Jоrdan” unquestiоnably has the highest net wоrth оf any NBA player at $3 billiоn.
The next five highest-paid NBA players are as fоllоws: secоnd-place LeBrоn James ($1 billiоn), third-place Magic Jоhnsоn ($630 milliоn), fоurth-place Juniоr Bridgeman ($620 milliоn), and fifth-place Shaquille о’Neal ($450 milliоn).