The 10 Biggest contracts in New Orleans Pelicans history
By Mat Issa
6. Chris Paul – 25.8% of the league salary cap (2010-11)
If you don’t have Davis as your number one Hornets/Pelicans player of all time, you likely have The Point God, Chris Paul, as your man. Yet, neither of them is in the top 5 on this list.
\With that said, Paul did have a couple of years of nice paydays. And like Davis, his highest-earning year with New Orleans was his last one with the team (we send our guys off with full pockets). In 2010-11, Paul made over 14.9 million dollars – the equivalent of 25.8% of the 58.68 million dollar league salary cap maximum.
5. Jrue Holiday – 26.1% of the league salary cap (2018-19)
If you are reading this in October of 2023, you know that Jrue Holiday has been all over the news. In 2023-24, he’ll be one of the best two-way guards in the league, and the Boston Celtics are a better team with him on their roster.
However, Holiday has been good for quite some time. Despite never earning an All-Star nomination during his time with New Orleans, he played at an All-Star caliber level for multiple seasons. And we paid him like he was an All-Star, too.
In July of 2017, Holiday agreed to a 5-year, 126-million dollar deal to continue his tenure with the team. And in 2018-19, Holiday made 26.6 million dollars, which accounted for 26.1% of the league salary cap maximum (101.869 million).