Trust Michael Jordan to surpass Nike’s all four conditions when all he had to do was just tick one of them.
When he signed a deal with the sports giant in his first season with the Chicago Bulls in 1984, Nike had some clauses in the contract for him to fulfill if he were to be presented with a solid show deal with the league in his second season.
He either had to win Rookie of the Year, average 20 PPG, become an All-Star, or sell $4 million worth of shoes in a year.
https://twitter.com/Rules23Jordan/status/1663924184777654273
And Jordan, in typical Jordan fashion accomplished all four conditions. The future six-time champion averaged 28.2 points in his rookie season, coupled with 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, and these stellar numbers rightfully saw him crowned Rookie of the Year.
In the process, Jordan also made the All-Star cut in his maiden stint with the Bulls, becoming one of the 45 players who made the roster in their first season in the league. And as far as selling the shoes goes, his Air Jordans sold in the number of $100 million — a humongous number compared to Nike’s clause.
Let’s delve into those achievements a bit deeper. Jordan came into the NBA as a 3rd overall pick in 1984 which will go down in history as arguably the greatest draft ever. It also comprised Hakeem Olajuwon (1st overall), Charles Barkley (5th overall), Alvin Robertson (7th overall), Otis Thorpe (9th overall), Kevin Willis (11th overall), and John Stockton (16th overall).
While all of these players went on to become bonafide superstars over the course of their careers, Jordan simply managed to outshine them right from the start. He made his debut against the Washington Bullets and lived up to every bit of the expectations by propping up 16 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals.
He did even better two games later by putting on a stellar display against the Milwaukee Bucks with 37 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. These were amazing and incredible stats for a rookie, and that safe to say, rightfully marked the beginning of the MJ era in the NBA.
Overall, MJ scored the league’s highest number of points (2,313) in the 1984–85 NBA season, making him an NBA All-Star in his first season and earning him the 1985 Rookie of the Year award.
Nike expected Michael Jordan to sell $4 million Nike shoes, but with his performance on the court, coupled with his charisma, and image off the court, he sold a whopping $100 million of Nike shoes in his first year of the contract with the famous shoe brand.
To provide a bit more insight into his achievements, Jordan ended his career as a 6x NBA champion, a six-time Finals MVP, and a 5-Time MVP. His decorated career also included 14 x All-Star, DPOY in 1998, and made the All-Defensive teams nine times. Pretty much the GOAT for a reason.
How Much Royalty Does Michael Jordan Get From Nike?
Michael Jordan pretty much made more than double his career earnings in the NBA in 2022 alone, thanks to his long-standing licensing deal with Nike.
His Jordan brand raked in $5.1 billion in fiscal 2022, of which MJ receives a reported 5% due to his deal with the brand. Based on those numbers, Forbes estimates that the Bulls legend may have reportedly earned around $256.1 million in 2022 from his licensing deal alone. To lend perspective, his estimated net worth is $1.7 billion.
It also helps that the Jordan brand’s revenue scaled by the year. In fact, it made $4.8 billion in 2021, up 31% from 2020’s $3.6 billion.
On a side note, if the numbers aren’t necessarily the whole story and you would like to see how the deal panned out, we’d recommend watching Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s ‘Air’ that revolves around Nike’s basketball division and how they managed to put forth a deal that makes for one of the most lucrative brand partnerships in NBA history.
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