In the modern era, no Boston Celtics player comes close to touching Larry Bird‘s legendary status within the franchise. Larry Legend brought three titles to Boston, and he is the gold standard for an NBA star in the city.
But there was a time that Larry Bird almost didn’t suit up for the Celtics. During contract negotiations in 1984, Bird and then Celtics President Red Auerbach seemingly couldn’t agree on a $25,000 clause. And Larry said if it hadn’t been sorted, he might have sat out the whole year.
“I remember the contract I signed in 1984, just after we won a championship,” Larry wrote in his book, Bird Watching. “Red Auerbach called me in the summer and said, ‘Come down and let’s get this contract done.’
“I said, ‘Should I bring [agent] Bob Woolf?’ He said, ‘You can if you want.’ So Mr. Woolf and I go down to the Celtics offices, and Red’s got his general manager Jan Volk, in there, and it’s going fine, but then we start getting down to numbers.
Larry Bird was looking to be paid $1.8 million a year, and while there was initial pushback, it eventually boiled down to just one small clause. And Bird revealed things got tense until it got figured out.
“I don’t remember what it was, but I would have sat out the whole year before I’d let Red hold me up over $25,000. I ended up getting my $1.8 million, and the $25,000, and I was happy about that.
“I didn’t want $2.3 million, or $2.5 million, which is what Mr. Woolf wanted me to ask for. I knew that Moses had a contract coming up the next season, and he’d probably get more than I was getting, but I didn’t care about all that.”
It’s hard to imagine an icon like Larry Bird refusing to suit up, but he knew what he was worth and what he wanted. The Celtics were probably glad they gave Bird what he wanted, he won another MVP in 1984-85 and led the team to the NBA Finals. He would go on to win the MVP the year after that, and add another championship and a Finals MVP too.
Larry Bird Was Unstoppable In His Prime
Between 1983 to 1986, Larry Bird won three MVPs, two Finals MVPs, and two NBA championships. That is an incredibly dominant run and his numbers backed it up. He averaged 26.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in those three seasons. It checks out that the Celtics were arguing over clauses, Larry Bird was likely to meet any clause they set out for him during that part of his career.
Considering the massive salaries of the modern era, it’s weird to think that Bird’s career earnings were just $24 million. But he and Magic Johnson laid the foundation for modern players to be able to earn as much as they did. With all the player empowerment that has become a point of discussion in recent years, it is important to remember the legends like Larry Bird who paved the way for it to happen.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
