Michael Jordan signed with Nike on October 26, 1984. The running shoe company made a big bet on products from the University of North Carolina. Jordan agreed to a five-year contract worth $500,000.
Six months later, the Air Jordan line was born. The Swoosh predicts the Jordan 1 will earn approximately $3 million within four years of release. The brand, and possibly Jordan’s estimates, are far off. AJ1 reached a staggering $130 million within one year of its launch.
Estimated revenue within four years is $3 million, and by 2022, Nike will make $3 million from Jordan Brand every five hours. No one expected that number to drop as the NBA’s popularity grew and jumping became part of American culture.
•
Here’s how much Michael Jordan has earned each year since 2018 under his 5% royalty agreement with Nike (per Buster):
“Jordan Brand Annual Sales Volume”
• 2018: $2.8 billion
• 2019: $3.1 billion
• 2020: $3.7 billion
• 2021: $4.8 billion
• 2022: $5.1 billion
• 2023: $6.6 billion
This means that when 2023 ends in about a week, Michael Jordan will have $330 million in his bank account. The man who sold a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion will only get richer.
As the sales of Jordan Brand continue to increase, “his aura” may one day achieve this effect:
“If this growth continues, MJ may soon be earning $1 billion in annual royalties. “Then it will continue to his estate. “
Nike made a big bet in 1984. For nearly 40 years, the bet has never stopped winning.
Adidas must still be having nightmares because it decided not to aggressively pursue Michael Jordan
Adidas was a more well-known and popular basketball shoe brand than Nike in the 1980s. In 1973, 80 percent of NBA players were wearing the Superstar, one of the German company’s signature shoes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and George Gervin are two of the most popular players who regularly wear this shoe.
Almost everyone knows that Michael Jordan wanted to wear the Three Stripes brand. Signing the 1984 National College Player of the Year would have been a no-brainer. Instead, Nike pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in sneaker deal history.
The Chicago Bulls legend said this about his history with adidas and Nike:
“You know, the truth is, I had never worn a Nike shoe before I signed the Nike contract. All throughout college, we wore Converse, and up until that point, my favorite shoes were Adidas shoes. At that time, when everyone I have always been an Adidas supporter when it comes to asking what shoes I should wear.
“But then I was very loyal. I went back to Adidas and said look; this is a Nike contract; I’ll sign with you if you guys come close. Anything close to what they put on the table… “They felt It wasn’t worth it and in hindsight it was perfect for me as it made my decision easier and I ended up going with Nike. “