Michael Jordan’s collaboration with Nike has been fruitful for the Chicago Bulls legend.
In 1984, Nike was a comparatively unknown sneaker model, at the very least by way of offering endorsement offers with NBA stars.
Nevertheless, the model exploded in recognition after signing Michael Jordan the identical 12 months. Through the years, Jordan’s signature footwear have been worn by tens of millions of followers.
An enormous enchantment for the Jordan Model is none aside from the enduring Jumpman brand, the place Mike seems to be dunking the basketball together with his left hand.
When wanting on the Jumpman brand, any fan would assume it’s MJ’s silhouette dunking a basketball, proper? Nevertheless, that’s incorrect.
In a 1997 interview with Hoop Journal, Jordan revealed that he wasn’t even dunking when the enduring image was taken.
“I wasn’t even dunking on that one. Folks assume that I used to be. I simply stood on the ground, jumped up, and unfold my legs, and so they took the image. I wasn’t even operating,” Jordan stated in 1997 (h/t Good Kicks).
The 6x NBA champion added: “Everybody thought I did that by operating and taking off. Really, it was a ballet transfer the place I jumped up and unfold my legs. And I used to be holding the ball in my left hand.”
The truth is, the photoshoot that Jordan talked about occurred even earlier than he wore his Nike footwear. To be exact, the image was taken from a 1984 photoshoot with LIFE journal forward of the Olympics.
Apart from the enduring brand, Jordan’s signing with Nike set a precedent for future endorsement offers. In any case, to today, Mike receives royalties from each Jordan Model sneaker offered all over the world.
As we speak, Jordan is price $3.5 billion, per Forbes, and an enormous chunk of his earnings comes from his reported 5% royalty from Jordan Model gross sales.
Based on Sportico, Jordan Model’s income for Nike’s newest fiscal 12 months was $7.3 billion, which suggests Jordan earned over $300 million.
For context, Jordan earned simply $93.8 million throughout his 15-year stint within the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards.
