Magic Johnson’s Contract Breakdown: From $460,000 As A Rookie To A 25-Year And $25 Million Contract Extension

Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson would have flourished in today’s league. With his career earnings set as one year’s worth of pay for some of the top players, Johnson would have been making well over $50 million a season. Instead, Johnson established a legacy that often puts him on the Mount Rushmore of basketball legends. When looking at his career contract breakdown, goes to show how far the NBA has come when it comes to playing its top players.

After all, Johnson played for the Los Angeles Lakers. This was a top-tier franchise in the 80s. Their market value surged, especially when Johnson helped the team win five championships during his time. The three-time Finals MVP and three-time MVP winner was also a 12-time All-Star and nine-time All-NBA First Team selection. Johnson never made $3 million during a season. That’s the real crime.

Here is the contract breakdown for the all-time Laker great.

1979-80 NBA Season – $460,000 Salary

Stats: 18.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG

After being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 1979, Johnson quickly rose to fame by leading the Lakers to 60 wins in the regular season. The Lakers promoted Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the NBA Finals. He remains the only rookie to win Finals MVP after his clutch performance helped the Lakers seal the 1980 NBA championship. Given his instant success in the league, you could have made a case for Johnson being paid the highest salary after his first season.

1980-81 NBA Season – $460,000 Salary

Stats: 21.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 8.6 APG, 3.4 SPG, 0.7 BPG

Johnson was out for most of the season due to suffering torn cartilage in his left knee. He missed 45 games. He was able to return for the 1981 playoffs but it didn’t help the team’s overall play. Despite not having Johnson, the Lakers were able to win 54 games but lost to the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. After the season, Johnson signed a 25-year, $25 million contract with the Lakers, which is the equivalent of a $75,000,000 contract in 2021. It gave him the highest-paid contract in sports history at the time.

1981-82 NBA Season – $460,000 Salary

Stats: 18.6 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 9.5 APG, 2.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG

The season got off to a slow start after Johnson was engaged in a heated conversation with head coach Paul Westhead. That led to Johnson demanding a trade, but it ultimately led to Westhead being fired. The team replaced him with Pat Riley and the Lakers took off. Johnson led the league in steals. He also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only players to record 700 points, rebounds, and assists in the same season. The Lakers won the NBA championship and Johnson won the Finals MVP Award.

1982-83 NBA Season – $460,000 Salary

Stats: 16.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG

For another season, Johnson’s contract was just under half a million dollars despite being a two-time champion. This season began the first of nine straight seasons where Johnson recorded a double-double. Johnson also made the first of nine appearances on the All-NBA First Team. The Lakers made the NBA Finals but lost to the 76ers as James Worthy and Bob McAdoo were ailing with injuries.

1983-84 NBA Season – $460,000 Salary

Stats: 17.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 13.1 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG

In the offseason, the Lakers traded away Norm Nixon so that Johnson could be the primary ball handler. That led to Johnson averaging a career-high in assists. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals for the third year in a row and played a legendary seven-game series against the Celtics. In the decisive Game 7, Johnson turned the ball over late in the game as the Lakers trailed by three points. It led to the loss and Johnson was seen as emotional for taking the blame.

1984-85 NBA Season – $1,000,000 Salary

Stats: 18.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 12.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG

With Johnson having another great season, the Lakers made another appearance in the NBA Finals. The team took on the Celtics once again. The series got off to a slow start when the Lakers allowed an NBA Finals record 148 points in a Game 1 loss. With that said, the team relied on an amazing season from Abdul-Jabbar, who won the Finals MVP, as the Lakers won in six games. Johnson averaged 18.3 points and 14.0 assists in the Finals.

1985-86 NBA Season – $2,500,000 Salary

Stats: 18.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 12.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG

With a new career-high in salary, Johnson backed it up with a solid double-double performance. That included leading the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals. The team was unable to get past the Houston Rockets to make the NBA Finals though. With that said, Johnson was due a high salary given his history. He would make up for the Lakers coming up short in the following season with a historic regular season.

1986-87 NBA Season – $1,000,000 Salary

23.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 12.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG

The best player in the league came from the Lakers this season. Johnson saw his salary dip just a tad. Call it motivation or just pure competition, but Johnson would win his first regular season MVP Award. Johnson averaged a career-high in points and led the Lakers to the NBA Finals. That included multiple feats, which included a Game 4 game-winning shot over Kevin McHale. The Lakers won the championship and Johnson won his third Finals MVP Award.

1987-88 NBA Season – $2,500,000 Salary

19.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 11.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG

The Lakers were on record for defending their championship. No team had defended their championship since the Celtics 20 years ago. Johnson had another successful season but missed 10 regular season games. He was healthy enough to come back for the playoffs. That included leading the Lakers back to the NBA Finals. This time, the Lakers would win their fifth championship but Johnson would miss out on the Finals MVP Award as it was won by teammate James Worthy.

1988-89 NBA Season – $3,142,860 Salary

22.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 12.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG

The highest salary of Johnson’s career for a regular season came the following year. At the time, Johnson was a five-time champion. Johnson was not the highest-paid player in the league but he was the best. He would win his second regular season MVP Award with 22.5 points and 12.8 assists. In the playoffs, he led the Lakers back to the NBA Finals but the team was beaten by the Detroit Pistons. Johnson went down with a hamstring injury in Game 2 and the Pistons swept the Lakers in four games.

1989-90 NBA Season – $1,000,000 Salary

22.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 11.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG

For the first time in his career, Johnson played a season without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson stepped up in a big way by winning his third regular season MVP Award. Johnson had a strong season that featured another double-double and a strong rebounding effort. The Lakers bowed out early in the playoffs. The team lost to the Suns in the second round, which was their earliest playoff exit in nine years.

1990-91 NBA Season – $2,400,000 Salary

19.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 12.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG

The Lakers had a new coach Mike Dunleavy. Johnson was the third oldest point guard in the league, but he remained strong. Despite being slower in speed, he adjusted his game to create more offense in half-court sets. He averaged a double-double and helped the Lakers make the NBA Finals once again. Johnson was outmatched by the Chicago Bulls and Micahel Jordan. Scottie Pippen held Johnson in check and Jordan’s Bulls won their first of six championships.

1991-92 NBA Season – $2,500,000 Salary

Stats: None

Johnson had a physical right before the 1991-92 season. It shows that he had tested positive for HIV. The Lakers held a press conference and Johnson announced that he would retire immediately. At the time, his wife Cookie was having a child and they stated that the unborn child did not have HIV. It was at that time that Johnson declared he would dedicate himself to battling this disease. Despite not playing, Johnson has announced an All-Star thanks to the voting from friends.

1992-93 NBA Season – $2,500,000 Salary

Stats: None

Before the season began, Johnson made headlines by stating that he would make an NBA comeback. He practiced several times and played in the pre-season but retired again before the regular season. Much of that was speculated that active players opposed him coming back.

1993-94 NBA Season – $2,500,000 Salary

Stats: None

Johnson returned to the NBA as a coach but he was still paid his regular player salary. He replaced Randy Pfund and Bill Bertka as interim coaches. Johnson took over for a Lakers team that was 28-38 overall. He would win his first game of the season. The Lakers would finish the season on a ten-game losing streak though. His final record as head coach was 5-11. Instead of remaining as a coach, he would purchase a five-percent share of the team in June 1994.

1994-95 NBA Season To 2009-10 NBA Season – $1,000,000 Salary

1995-96 Stats: 14.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.9 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG

At the age of 36, Johnson made a return to the Lakers. He was active in the weight room and increased his weight overall. The Lakers owned a record of 53-29 and were the fourth seed in the playoffs. The Lakers were eliminated in the first round. Johnson expressed interest in returning but he would retire for good this time at the end of this season. Despite walking away from the game, he would make $1 million per year between the 1995-96 and 2009-10 seasons.

This was thanks to signing a 25-year, $25 million contract extension effective from 1984 when his rookie contract expired. It made him the highest-paid player in sports. That allowed him to get paid by the Lakers after retirement. When you think about it, this was a great move by Johnson as he played 12 years in the NBA. He essentially doubled his worth for his playing time.

The chances of us seeing a contract like this in today’s league is unlikely. The players have a lot more power as stars have signed with teams on short-term contracts. This has maximized their value and has allowed them to form superteams to give themselves a better chance for a title. As for the Lakers, it might have cost the team money down the road, but Johnson did bring five championships to town. Had he never had his HIV diagnosis, that championship total would have likely been higher. 

Career Earnings – $39,342,860 Salary

Stats: 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG

The early end to Johnson’s career is a shame. In 905 games, Johnson finished with 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds, and 10,141 assists. Had he played a full career, he might have given John Stockton a run for his money for the all-time assists record. He does hold the Finals record for assists in a game with 21 and owns the most playoff assists. He is the only player to average 12 assists in an NBA Finals series, having done it six times. When you look at his career earnings, one has to wonder how much money he would have made if he played in the modern era. 

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