Michael Jordan impacted the NBA in a way that hardly any other player in the history of the league did. Sure, Jordan gained most fame due to his amazing ability to play the game of basketball and to win almost every accolade out there. But apart from that, there were other ways by which MJ impacted the league.
One of them was making a big amount of money with the help of endorsement deals. Of course, Jordan made a lot of money with his contracts with the Chicago Bulls, but that pales in comparison to how much money he made with endorsement deals.
Moreover, many believe that if it weren’t for Jordan, other players in the league could have never made a lot with endorsement deals. However, prior to Jordan, the likes of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson also had immense popularity among fans. Unfortunately, they failed to completely capitalize on their popularity.
Michael Jordan’s Endorsement Deals Created A Rift Between His Relationship With Magic Johnson And Larry Bird
Michael Jordan developed a good relationship with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird over time. So much so that the three legends have praised each other several times. But Jordan himself revealed in an interview that wasn’t always the case. MJ said due to the fact that he earned a lot from his endorsement deals, it kind of created a problem regarding his relationship with Magic and Bird.
Via Cigar Aficionado:
Marvin R. Shanken: How did you get into endorsements? There have been other celebrities, but you took endorsements and ran with it in an unconventional way on a huge stage. How did this happen?
Michael Jordan: When I came into the pros, I never knew anything about the business aspect outside of basketball. All I focused on was basketball. The beauty was what my agents, David Falk and Donald Dell, did back in the Bulls days. They took what I did on the basketball court and attached a marketing value to it, and connected me to companies that had the same values that I had from the basketball standpoint. Coca-Cola, Gatorade, Hanes, Sara Lee. Those type of things. They built a connection from a puzzle that they pieced together because of what I portrayed on the basketball court.
I didn’t go into the NBA thinking, “OK, now I’m going to capitalize on all these marketing dollars.” It just happened. If you asked my agents how they created this mixture, they couldn’t tell you. It was just one of those things. We entered the league in an era when the marketing of athletes became prevalent. It became one of the biggest things. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson should have been there first. Their reputations should have given them opportunity. But they didn’t foresee it and they didn’t capitalize on it. Initially, I think it became a sticking point in our relationships, because I was getting things that from a success standpoint they were entitled to or should have at least had the opportunity to obtain. But the timing was perfect for me.
Magic and Bird’s rivalry is usually credited for reviving the interest of fans in the NBA. Despite that, as Jordan mentioned in his answer, the two legends still failed to capitalize on their popularity in terms of making money with endorsement deals. MJ, on the other hand, came to the league at the perfect time and made the most of it.
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