When the time arrived, coach Pat Riley walked in the door and offered $105 million over seven years for Howard to join the Miami Heat. At the time, no athlete from any of North America’s four major professional leagues had ever inked a nine-figure deal. Howard could become the first. The offer was in line with expectations. Falk made sure of it. Though he usually didn’t discuss specific figures with the media before negotiations with teams, he made an exception in Howard’s case, in part because “I was still outraged at the way (Washington) treated him the first time.” So Falk called Post reporter Richard Justice to tell him it was going to take $15 million to $20 million per year for Howard to re-sign with the Bullets. He then called Wes Unseld, who had replaced Nash as general manager, and told him, “Wes, we can’t talk till Tuesday, but when you wake up tomorrow, make sure you read The Washington Post.”
