Johnson’s Magic Number for 1994-95: $14.6 Million : Pro basketball: Contract extension gives the Laker guard the highest single-season salary in team sports.

Two days after announcing his return to the NBA, Magic Johnson signed a one-year contract extension Thursday for the 1994-95 season believed to be worth a record $14.6, payable even if he does not play.

That gives Johnson the largest single-season salary in team sports, and, considering the $2.5 million he will make each of the next two years, makes the next three seasons worth $19.6 million. The fully guaranteed deal was made after the three-time most valuable player suggested he might not play beyond 1992-93 and without stipulation of Johnson’s working in the front office after retiring. That means he will collect the full amount, $19.6 million, even if he retires again after this season--or any time during it.

“I’m not going to confirm or deny it, but the figure is in the ballpark,” said Lon Rosen, Johnson’s agent.

The balloon payment is not unlike what Larry Bird got from the Boston Celtics and Clyde Drexler from the Portland Trail Blazers. In this case, the Lakers are able to compensate Johnson for making “only” $2.5 million while being one of the game’s top draws, helping to increase the average salary to $6.53 million for the next three seasons.

The 1994-95 salary surpasses the reported $9.4 million per season that Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks will earn under an extension he signed last November for 1995-96 and 1996-97. When added to his current contract, that extension guaranteed him $33 million for six years.

Shaquille O’Neal, this year’s No. 1 pick, signed with the Orlando Magic for seven years at $40 million, an average of $5.7 million annually. Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs has the largest baseball contract at $28.4 million over four years, or $7.1 million per season. The combined payroll for the Cleveland Indians in 1992 is $8 million.

The dollars go beyond record-setting. Putting it in perspective, $14.6 million is more than 11 of the 27 NBA teams’ entire payrolls as of a week ago, and two others were practically at that number. The league-wide salary cap for this season is $14 million and $15 million for 1993-94, although the Lakers, already over, were able to obliterate it because they gave an extension to their own player.

The numbers may be startling, but Rosen and the Lakers both said that owner Jerry Buss wanted to give Johnson an extension while he was still playing, and that he did not change his mind when the NBA’s all-time assist leader announced his premature retirement last Nov. 7 after testing positive for the human immunodeficiency virus.

Once Johnson told Buss last Saturday that he planned to return, the contract took only a few days to complete.

“The day Earvin made the announcement (of his retirement), Jerry Buss came up to me and said, ‘I’m still going to do that extension for Earvin,’ ” Rosen said.

“Earvin is ecstatic about the contract. He’s grateful that Jerry Buss has agreed to do this and he hopes to bring a championship back to Los Angeles.”

Added Laker General Manager Jerry West: “This extension is something that Dr. Buss said he would do long ago, but Earvin didn’t want to announce it until after he made his decision whether or not to play. The extension has nothing to do with Tuesday’s announcement and is something that we were going to do even if he didn’t come back to play. It’s just another example why Dr. Buss is the best owner in professional sports.”

Also, NBA rules don’t allow an extension if the existing contract goes through a person’s 35th year unless there are two years left on the current deal, although a third year can always be added. Johnson turned 33 on Aug. 14.

Johnson said he expects to play between 50 and 60 games and then re-evaluate his game and medical condition. Doctors say they can only wait to see how the grind of professional basketball, even if Johnson limits his play, as he says he will, affects someone with HIV.

“It’s time to go back to work,” he said at the Forum news conference to announce his return. “It’s time to have some fun. I think the positives outweigh all the risks. That’s not saying there are no risks, because life itself is a risk. But being out there, I won’t be worried about that. If I was concerned about that, I’d still be retired.”

Johnson’s only NBA-style competition since retiring has been in the All-Star game at Orlando, Fla., in February, when he was the emotional star and the MVP; the pre-Olympic Tournament of the Americas in Portland, Ore., and the Olympics in Barcelona.

The Lakers will open training camp Oct. 9 in Honolulu. They open the season Nov. 6 against the Clippers at the Sports Arena.

Money Matters

Magic Johnson’s one-year contract extension paying him $14.6 million for the 1994-95 season is the largest single-season deal in team sports. A breakdown of his contract for that season:

If Johnson plays every minute of all 82 regular-season games, he would earn:

* $178,048.80 per game.

* $3,709.35 per minute.

To maintain his health, Johnson is expected to play between 50 and 60 games. Playing every minute in 50 games, he would earn:

* $292,000 per game.

* $6,082.91 per minute.

Times staff writer Mark Heisler contributed to this story.

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