Dirk Nowitzki Took A $15 Million Pay Cut, And Now He's The Lowest-Paid Starter On His Team

Tom Pennington/Getty

Dirk Nowitzki took a $15-million pay cut this offseason, reducing his annual salary from $22.7 million to $7.9 million.

He went from the 2nd-highest-paid player in the NBA to the 80th-highest-paid player in the NBA. Mark Cuban put the Dirk savings to good use. He gave Chandler Parsons a massive free agent deal and traded for Tyson Chandler. Going into the 2014-15 season, Dirk was making less money than three of his teammates (Chandler, Parsons, and Monta Ellis).

On Thursday night Dallas completed the first blockbuster trade of the season, acquiring Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics for Brandon Wright, Jameer Nelson, and draft picks.

As a result, Dirk now has the distinction of being the lowest-paid starter on his team.

The new Dallas starting five:

• Tyson Chandler ($14.9 million)
• Chandler Parsons ($14.7 million)
• Rajon Rondo ($12.9 million)
• Monta Ellis ($8.4 million)
• Dirk Nowitzki ($7.9 million)

Dirk is 36-years old, but he's still the focal point of the team. He didn't take a salary cut because he couldn't get more money elsewhere, he took it to help the team. If he took a deal that kept him as one of the highest-paid players in the league, there's no way the Mavericks could have added guys like Parsons, Chandler, and Rondo. 

The team's success this year was made possible, in large part, to Dirk taking so much less money.

He won't let his teammates forget it either: