One of the most fascinating facets of the NBA to discuss are the insane contracts that get handed out. We sometimes get desensitized to the bonkers dollar figures listed on these deals. But when you really sit down with the numbers, these guys make a ton of money.
In honor of these massive paydays, we decided to take a look back at (as the title suggests) the ten biggest contracts in New Orleans Pelicans (and Hornets) history. But this time, we’re going to do it with a special twist.
Instead of looking at the raw dollar amount on these contracts, we’re going to focus on the percentage of the league salary cap each player garnered in a specific season. That way, we don’t over-index this list on recent players (as contracts today are way more lucrative than those being given out 10-15 years ago).
Another rule for our list is that we are focusing on specific seasons rather than the totality of the contract. And a player is only allowed to show up once on our list. So, we are just ranking the season where they ate up the highest portion of the salary cap.
Having these parameters not only helps us adjust for inflation, but also makes our list unique to any others that might be out there.
Before we begin, here are a couple of honorable mentions:
11. Omer Asik – 23.6% of the league salary cap (2014-15)
12. Peja Stojakovic – 22.8% of the league salary cap (2009-10)
13. Emeka Okafor – 21.6% of the league salary cap (2011-12)
Now that we have the rules for our list and our honorable mentions squared away, let’s get into the real list itself.