Falk was not well-liked around the league, with even NBA executives acknowledging that they felt he held a disproportionate amount of power. As the negotiator behind four of the five largest contracts in team sports history and the pre-eminent agent in the NBA, Falk was a contributor to the spike in player salaries that saw the average NBA contract rise from $330,000 in 1984, the year Jordan was signed, to $4.5 million in 2001, when he stepped down as Chairman of SFX Sports Group. Falk himself scoffed at the venom that was frequently directed his way: