Brown vs. Williams: Mavericks’ star makes more despite pair’s Illini success
October 30, 2015
Walking around Champaign, the name Daniel Brown isn’t a well-known one.
That’s because everybody calls him “Dee.”
Dee Brown is two months into his appointment as a special assistant to the athletic director and nine years after finishing his playing career in Champaign. He makes a fraction of the money of Deron Williams, his backcourt mate during the magical 2004-2005 season Illinois basketball season.
Williams has had a much more successful NBA career than Brown, despite the immense amount of success and popularity the two had with the Illini.
Brown filled his current role in a temporary fashion during the summer months, but has become a full-time employee since the beginning of September.
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His career numbers with the Illini are better than Williams’, who left early for the NBA Draft. But just because he didn’t have a lasting NBA career didn’t mean Brown was doomed financially. The Illinois alum played abroad in Europe for several seasons before arriving in Champaign as a University employee.
Brown, the winningest player in Illinois history, is set to make $200,000 this year — his contract is a one-year agreement with the University. Williams, in his ninth year in the NBA, is set to make $5,378,974 this season. Prior to this year, his contract with the Brooklyn Nets was bought out for $27.5 million.
Ten years after the pair brought Illinois to the national championship game, see how their numbers stack up in this retrospective.
