By the summer of 1988, Larry Bird had already accomplished nearly everything an NBA superstar could ask for. He was a three-time NBA champion, a three-time league MVP and the face of one of basketball's most iconic franchises. If there was a time for Larry Legend to make sure his salary reflected his true value, it was then.
For Bird fans, offering The Hick from French Lick a lucrative contract was a no-brainer. However, that wasn't the case at all. Bird vividly recalled in his book, " Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching The Game I Love ," how tense his contract extension negotiations with Boston Celtics owner Alan Cohen became.
At the time, Michael Jordan had just signed a groundbreaking eight-year, $25 million contract with the Chicago Bulls . Bird wasn't interested in hearing explanations about age, market size or future potential. He demanded what the league's highest earners, like MJ, were making.
Instead of getting a resounding "yes," Bird's request was declined right away.
"I knew what I wanted when I went down there, so I started running down these contracts, starting with Patrick Ewing... We go down the list to Michael Jordan and he says, 'Aw, c'mon, Jordan is a young star on the way up' and then we get to Magic and he says, 'You can't count Magic. That's L.A., Showtime and all that.' I said, 'I don't care what it is. We're talking about players here. You average them in and that's what I want,'" Bird said.
Truth be told, Bird wasn't entering the negotiations with outrageous demands. His agency believed a contract worth around $3.2 million annually would have been an acceptable figure. However, the direction of the meeting changed once Larry felt that Cohen was trying to shortchange him.
That didn't sit well with the Celtics superstar.
Rather than compromising, Bird raised his asking price by another million dollars. In the end, Boston blinked first, giving their franchise cornerstone exactly what he had been fighting for. However, part of Larry Legend felt like he was worth $10 million, but the deal was already done by then.
"I was feeling pretty good about myself until I got into that car and started thinking, 'I probably could have got ten million.' Cohen is probably sitting up there laughing his butt off. He got me. But I was happy," Bird added. "I got what I felt was fair."
After the intense negotiations, Bird officially signed the extension in October 1988. The deal reportedly paid him about $4.2 million annually over the remaining years of the contract. It instantly placed him among the highest-paid players in the league.
Unfortunately, the timing couldn't have been worse. Just weeks into the 1988-89 season, Larry underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels. The procedure sidelined him for almost the entire season, limiting him to just six games. Right around that time, Bird's back problems also began to worsen.
Still, the numbers on his contract never looked undeserved.
The Celtics were well aware that only a few players in NBA history have meant more to a single franchise than Bird meant to Boston. In fact, the tables had turned in 1992 when Bird informed the Celtics that he was retiring.
This time, it was Boston that was trying to convince Larry Legend to continue playing, even offering a huge amount of money and special arrangements.
However, Bird stuck to his decision.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
