During his time in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal was not known for leaving money on the table during negotiations to help his teams out. Unlike the Dirk Nowitzkis of the world, O’Neal wasn’t for giving his team handouts, instead choosing to make every penny possible, which he was well within his right to do, as he pretty much always lived up to his max contracts.
Well, our research confirms the idea that O’Neal drove a hard bargain during his time in the NBA, as we found that the Big Aristotle owned the biggest share of team payrolls in the NBA over the past 40 years, even after we factored in the first four seasons of his career in which he was on his rookie-scale contract, and the last campaign of his career when he was on a minimum deal.
Regardless, you can easily make the argument that O’Neal was worth every dollar since the big man had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history, one headlined by his winning four NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, one regular-season MVP and his making 15 All-Star appearances and 14 All-NBA teams.
According to our research, other NBA stars come close to O’Neal in this exercise, namely David Robinson and Michael Jordan, who took up large shares of their teams’ payrolls throughout their careers. Jordan actually finished No. 3 on this list, but that’s largely because of the two final years of his deal with the Bulls, which were the biggest salaries in NBA history if we adjust to inflation.
Below, check out the NBA players who took the largest share of team payrolls throughout their careers.
Brian Bahr/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 29.20 percentBiggest share: 46.53 percent in 2004-05 with MiamiCareer earnings: $292,198,327
DAN LEVINE/AFP via Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 27.16 percentBiggest share: 33.98 percent in 1998-99 with San AntonioCareer earnings: $114,448,123
Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 25.97 percentBiggest share: 54.03 percent in 1997-98 with ChicagoCareer earnings: $94,022,500
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 24.83 percentBiggest share: 42.34 percent in 2002-03 with MinnesotaCareer earnings: $343,862,398
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.87 percentBiggest share: 35.76 percent in 2013-14 with LA LakersCareer earnings: $328,237,108
Jonathan Daniel/ALLSPORT
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.85 percentCareer earnings: $17,244,000
RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.61 percentBiggest share: 43.21 percent in 1995-96 with New YorkCareer earnings: $125,193,120
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 23.16 percentBiggest share: 33.25 percent in 2018- with LA LakersCareer earnings: $531,322,273
Sporting News via Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.59 percentBiggest share: 42.72 percent in 1998-99 with HoustonCareer earnings: $110,291,426
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.24 percentBiggest share: 37.79 percent in 2002-03 with UtahCareer earnings: $105,933,378
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 22.13 percentBiggest share: 31.29 percent in 2019-20 with BrooklynCareer earnings: $457,119,040
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.51 percentBiggest share: 34.41 percent in 2022-23 with HoustonCareer earnings: $276,580,866
Rob Carr/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.31 percentBiggest share: 29.82 percent in 2019-20 with HoustonCareer earnings: $374,374,274
John Hefti-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 21.21 percentBiggest share: 31.22 percent in 2024-25 with Golden StateCareer earnings: $413,605,898
Al Bello /Allsport
Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.79 percentBiggest share: 31.50 percent in 1995-96 with WashingtonCareer earnings: $178,230,697
Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.78 percentBiggest share: 31.53 percent in 2021-22 with PortlandCareer earnings: $329,998,763
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 20.38 percentBiggest share: 27.77 percent in 2019-20 with BostonCareer earnings: $272,742,175
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.97 percentBiggest share: 28.47 percent in 2022-23 with WashingtonCareer earnings: $319,772,793
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.95 percentBiggest share: 26.48 percent in 2024-25 with PhiladelphiaCareer earnings: $356,300,737
Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.77 percentBiggest share: 28.63 percent in 2023-24 with PhiladelphiaCareer earnings: $266,714,364
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.62 percentBiggest share: 23.90 percent in 2023-24 with LA LakersCareer earnings: $311,521,148
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.50 percentBiggest share: 32.10 percent in 2020-21 with PhoenixCareer earnings: $400,637,385
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.39 percentBiggest share: 30.28 percent in 2008-09 with San AntonioCareer earnings: $245,964,351
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.19 percentBiggest share: 26.17 percent in 2024-25 with MiamiCareer earnings: $312,683,265
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.10 percentBiggest share: 27.66 percent in 2024-25 with DenverCareer earnings: $249,759,769
Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 19.06 percentBiggest share: 23.15 percent in 1999-00 with MemphisCareer earnings: $55,638,898
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.89 percentBiggest share: 28.18 percent in 2013-14 with OrlandoCareer earnings: $163,061,257
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.89 percentBiggest share: 28.03 percent in 2024-25 with LA ClippersCareer earnings: $328,471,638
Soobum Im-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.61 percentBiggest share: 26.18 percent in 2022-23 with MinnesotaCareer earnings: $261,348,195
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.60 percentBiggest share: 24.72 percent in 2024-25 with MilwaukeeCareer earnings: $284,880,292
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.48 percentBiggest share: 25.88 percent in 2015-16 with MiamiCareer earnings: $242,110,053
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.23 percentBiggest share: 25.72 percent in 2024-25 with New YorkCareer earnings: $233,178,835
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.04 percentBiggest share: 26.70 percent in 2019-20 with BrooklynCareer earnings: $315,811,186
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 18.02 percentBiggest share: 21.07 percent in 1990-91 with DetroitCareer earnings: $10,472,000
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.93 percentBiggest share: 27.79 percent in 2008-09 with HoustonCareer earnings: $163,057,818
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.68 percentBiggest share: 29.17 percent in 2008-09 with DetroitCareer earnings: $154,494,445
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.57 percentBiggest share: 25.20 percent in 2019-20 with PhiladelphiaCareer earnings: $276,450,726
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
Share of his teams’ payroll: 17.18 percentBiggest share: 26.45 percent in 2007-08 with Golden StateCareer earnings: $147,692,983
