Who is the highest-paid player in Bulls history?

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You won't find any members of the current Chicago Bulls roster among the franchise's top five highest-paid players in history -- but you don't have to look too far back to find them, as salary caps these days are much higher than they were in past decades. Plus, Zach LaVine's earnings next season ($19.5 million) will bump him up from his current No. 6 spot.

Here are the former Bulls stars who made the most money during their tenures in Chicago (per Spotrac):

5. Luol Deng

Luol Deng played the first 10 years of his NBA career with the Bulls, earning almost $65 million and averaging 16.1 points per game during that time. The Man from Sudan had back-to-back All-Star seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13, but that offseason there was speculation that he would be traded instead of re-signed. In January 2014, the Bulls traded Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Andrew Bynum and a few draft picks.

These days, Deng is the president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation and even coached the team at the AfroBasket qualifiers in February.

4. Joakim Noah

Selected No. 9 overall in 2007, Joakim Noah was a two-time All-Star for the Bulls and the 2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year -- only the second Bull to win that award after Michael Jordan for the 1987-88 season.

Compared to the Knicks, who signed Noah in 2016, the Bulls certainly got their money’s worth out of the 6-foot-11 center. Noah only played 53 games for New York because of injury and suspension, yet he earned nearly as much from the Knicks ($66.16 million) as he did from the Bulls over 592 games played ($68.17 million).

Noah announced his retirement this past March and recently joined former teammate Deng in investing in NBA Africa.

3. Carlos Boozer

After a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz in July 2010, the Bulls signed two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer to a five-year, $75 million contract. His 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game in the 2010-11 season provided a missing piece for the Bulls, who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, their most successful finish since their last NBA championship in 1997-98.

At the end of his contract in the 2014 offseason, the team released Boozer under the amnesty clause.

2. Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan may be the greatest of all time, but he only comes in second in money earned playing for the Bulls. 

Nowadays, NBA superstars routinely get paid upwards of $30 million a year. By contrast, Jordan never made more than $4 million per season until he signed a one-year contract worth $30.14 million for the 1996-97 season. He had another big payday ($33.14 million) for the following year, his last in Chicago. In total, he earned $91,742,500 from the Bulls.

1. Derrick Rose

With Jordan second in career earnings, it’s no surprise to see Derrick Rose on top, having raked in more than $94 million during his seven years with the Bulls. The 2008 No. 1 overall pick and 2010-11 MVP led the Bulls to their best years since the Jordan dynasty. If he hadn’t torn his ACL in the first game of the playoffs in 2011, his teammate Deng believes the Bulls “were on our way” to a championship, as he recently told the Bulls Talk Podcast.

The Bulls traded Rose to the Knicks on June 22, 2016. After stints with several other teams, D-Rose is now back in New York and reunited with his former Bulls coach, Tom Thibodeau.

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