The Atlanta Hawks hired Danny Ferry in 2012 with a six-year deal paying him $2 million annually.

The Hawks also gave Ferry guarantees they would invest into a D-League team and a new practice facility, plus he only had to report to Bruce Levenson.

Ferry's contract was one of the best ever secured by an NBA general manager with a six-year deal being almost unheard of outside of someone like Pat Riley or Gregg Popovich.

Other general managers started referring to Ferry's arrangement as the "Golden Ticket."

After Ferry was on leave following the release of insensitive remarks made from a scouting report on Luol Deng, he tried to be reinstated by the Hawks with the success the team was having on the court.