The New York Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing tops overall in the 1985 NBA draft and soon inked the NCAA Player of the Year a 10-year, $31 million deal.
Ten years is a long time in any market and Ewing’s agent David Falk hedged Patrick’s bet, inserting a clause into Ewing’s contract making him a restricted free agent after his sixth year (1990-91) if Ewing wasn’t one of the four-highest paid players in the league.
Year Six ended and the Knicks and Falk could not agree on the NBA’s four-highest players. Apparently Larry Bird was secretly the NBA’s most-compensated player in 1991-92, but the Knicks aren’t hearing this.
The Knicks say Ewing is the NBA’s fourth-highest paid player, Falk says Ewing is the fifth, because Larry. Falk wants to make Patrick Ewing a restricted free agent, an arbitrator eventually hears Ewing’s case against the Knicks.