Michael Jordan vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Who Earned More Money In Their NBA Career?

It is unbelievable how much money players are getting paid in today’s game, although that is due to the amount of revenue NBA teams and the league as a whole brings in every year. Players are getting paid the correct proportion of what they bring as value to the NBA because the amount of money circulating in modern sports is unprecedented.

When looking at NBA history, two players stand out in terms of being massive money-makers for the NBA, the franchises they played for, and themselves. The two players mentioned here are none other than Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, is a billionaire mainly from his off-court income, including advertisements, events, and especially the “Jordan Brand” shoes. On the court, Michael was a starlet who even made more money than the entire Bulls team at one point! Nobody should have a problem with that because as great as Scottie Pippen was, MJ was the best player in the franchise.

But did MJ make the money needed to be one of the highest-paid players of all time? His dominance in the league was truly unprecedented because he won 10 scoring titles, 6 NBA titles, and 6 Finals MVPs as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Of course, he was a perennial MVP candidate and managed to win 5 MVP awards. Amazingly, his success as the most dominant player in the world was evident year after year.

Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most widely marketed players of all time, and he is also on his way to billionaire status as he has a host of off-court endeavors, including being an analyst on “Inside The NBA,” making appearances in major events, and being included in multiple industries including footwear, candies, and restaurants. How many times have we seen Diesel appear in advertisements as well?

But even as a player, Shaq earned a ton of money while mainly playing for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Phoenix Suns. Shaq was such a dominant force on the court that he was a championship player year after year during his prime. O’Neal managed to win 4 NBA titles, 3 Finals MVPs, and an MVP award. He has to be the most physically intimidating force in NBA history because, outside of Wilt Chamberlain, and because of that, he earned his money with ease.

But which player earned more over their NBA career, without taking into account off-court endeavors? We have totaled each of the player’s salaries and deduced which one retired with the most salary paid to them. The difference between the two players might be surprising because there is quite a margin.

Michael Jordan Earned Just $94,022,500 In His NBA Career

Somehow, the greatest player of all time only made $94,022,500 in his NBA career. Compared to an average working person, that is an astronomical amount of money. But when discussing arguably the greatest professional athlete in the history of team sports, that is not a lot by any means. Jordan brought in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of income to the National Basketball Association, and he deserves a fair cut of that. At the time, Jordan was heavily paid because he was making more than the entire Chicago Bulls squad at one point. But even though Michael should have earned more.

Which other player delivered year after year like the GOAT? He won 10 scoring titles and delivered 6 NBA titles to one franchise, the Chicago Bulls. The shooting guard was so dominant, that the Bulls never even had to play in a Game 7 of any NBA Finals. Michael clearly should have earned at least half a billion dollars in salary alone had he played in a different era. But even when playing back in the day, could he have earned the money he deserved?

He would have gotten closer because, other than the salary he earned in 1997 and 1998 ($30,140,000 and $33,140,000, respectively), he was grossly underpaid. But how does Michael Jordan compare to Shaquille O’Neal in career earnings?

Shaquille O'Neal Earned Astonishing $292,198,327

Shaquille O’Neal has to be recognized as one of the most dominant players of all time. He won 4 NBA titles, 3 Finals MVPs, 1 MVP award, 2 scoring titles, and made 15 All-NBA Teams as a star player in the league. Even when Shaq was arguably the most dominant player in the NBA on his rookie deal, he was only making under $7 million for the first four years of his career with the Orlando Magic. He made over $20 million per season starting in 2002 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers until the final season of his career.

Approximately, Shaq earned over $290 million over his career, which is more than double what Michael Jordan made. O’Neal is regarded as a top-10 player of all time, but he is not on Jordan’s level as a player because nobody ever was. Shaq benefitted from playing in the modern era, where social media was becoming more prevalent, and the NBA was making more money than ever before. Shaq did well for himself, clearly, but he would have done better in today’s NBA.

Michael Jordan Is The Most Underpaid Player In NBA History

Obviously, when comparing Jordan’s earnings to O’Neal’s, it is obvious that the GOAT was underpaid. In today's world, Michael Jordan's salary would equate to over $55 M per year with relative ease based on his impact, value to the league, and dominance as a player. Of course, this is not even discussing what Jordan would do in today’s NBA, where defense is considered secondary to offense. Based on his success as a player, who could argue that this is too little? Jordan was the best player in the NBA by his rookie season, and by the time he retired, he was a 6-time NBA champion and 5-time MVP.

Jordan was the most iconic player in NBA history, and until now, his name is known globally. Jordan could not walk on the street when he was playing and is still limited today because his skills were so beyond everyone else. Jordan single-handedly brought in millions and perhaps billions of dollars in revenue to the NBA, so he will forever be the highest-paid player had he played in the modern era.

Shaquille O’Neal certainly earned a ton of money over his own career, and he earned every penny that he and his agent negotiated for. O’Neal was arguably the most dominant player in the world during the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers days and deserved the max money he was earning. For the Heat, Shaq was no longer the best player on the team, but he earned enough money to be one of the highest-paid figures in the league based on his presence in the paint and acumen alone.

He had a career rejuvenation with the Phoenix Suns at age 36 (2009 season) because he posted 17.8 PPG and 8.4 RPG while making his 15th and final All-Star Team. He joked about wanting a max extension deal, which he did not get, but he still made a minimum of $20 million in each season with the Suns and in the final season with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010. O’Neal made $1,352,181 in his final season in the league with the Boston Celtics, with the hopes of competing for the NBA championship and winning as many titles as Kobe Bryant. That did not happen, but regardless, Shaq was able to earn a little more money before he retired.

But overall, Jordan was underpaid. As mentioned, the shooting guard only got two major contracts in 1997 and 1998, when he earned over $30 million. It is also evident that Jordan might have been taken advantage of because, in the 1980s and 1990s, there was not widespread media attention on player pay as there is today. Franchises and owners were laughing all the way to the bank while the greatest athlete ever was being underpaid.