Noting the NBA's "new economic order has begun to take
shape," Dan Wasserman of the Newark STAR-LEDGER examines the ins-
and-outs of the NBA salary cap and how "savvy GMs" are able to
"tip the salary cap in their favor." While the official cap for
the '96-97 season is $24.3M per team, Wasserman cites league-wide
figures obtained by the LEDGER indicate $24.3M "was just a
starting point for some teams, due to the numerous exceptions
that allow teams to exceed the cap." He points out that the 29
NBA teams are scheduled to pay out "more than" $812.5M this
season -- which averages out to a little more than $28M per team
and around $2.072M per player for the 392 players currently under
contract. According to Wasserman's figures, the following are
the top 10 NBA salaries for '96-97 (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/17).
Michael Jordan $30,140,000 Hakeem Olajuwon $9,655,000
Horace Grant $17,857,142 Alonzo Mourning $9,379,800
Shaquille O'Neal $10,714,286 Juwan Howard $9,375,000
Gary Payton $10,211,880 Dennis Rodman $9,000,000
David Robinson $ 9,952,070 Dikembe Mutombo $8,012,656
