At 62 years old, Michael Jordan remains the highest-paid athlete on the planet, not through buzzer-beaters or NBA Finals MVPs, but through a financial empire so well-built, it generated over $300 million in earnings last year alone.
That jaw-dropping number is more than triple what he made during his entire NBA career ($93.7 million), and it highlights how Jordan, decades after retiring, is still in a league of his own.
The core of Jordan’s 2024 income was his lifelong partnership with Nike, and more specifically, Jordan Brand. Originally signed as a rookie in 1984 for a $500,000 base salary and a then-radical 5% royalty on every Air Jordan product sold, that deal has since become one of the most lucrative endorsements in sports history.
Jordan Brand generated an estimated $7 billion in revenue for Nike in 2023. With his estimated 4–5% royalty, Jordan personally earned approximately $260–$280 million from Nike alone last year. That puts him ahead of every active athlete in the world in total earnings, surpassing even Cristiano Ronaldo and Tiger Woods.
The brand’s success isn’t limited to basketball anymore. Jordan Brand is now a global fashion force, breaking into soccer by sponsoring Paris Saint-Germain and pushing into international markets.
The brand also features NBA stars like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Zion Williamson as its new generation of athletes, expanding its reach across both basketball and streetwear culture.
Jordan’s second major windfall in 2024 came from the sale of the Charlotte Hornets. He purchased majority ownership of the team in 2010 for $175 million and sold his controlling stake in 2023 at a $3 billion valuation.
Even a partial sale meant hundreds of millions in profit. Though exact figures aren’t disclosed, Sportico and Forbes estimate that Jordan pocketed between $200–$250 million from the transaction, further fueling his billionaire status.
Jordan’s portfolio stretches far beyond sneakers and basketball. He still maintains deals with Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports, and others. He also co-owns the 23XI Racing NASCAR team with Denny Hamlin and operates a string of restaurants and a car dealership.
These ventures likely added another $20–$40 million to his 2024 earnings, according to various reports. His endorsement philosophy is different now, he’s more selective, doing fewer deals but with more ownership and long-term equity built in.
Jordan even made headlines in the real estate world. After years on the market, he finally sold his Chicago mansion for $9.5 million, a steep drop from the original $29 million asking price. Yet that didn’t stop the mansion from turning into an attraction, you can now rent it on Airbnb for $17,000 per night, turning his home into yet another revenue stream.
With over $4.15 billion in career earnings (adjusted for inflation), Jordan is now officially the highest-paid athlete in history. His current net worth is $3.5 billion, placing him 1,045th on Forbes’ 2025 Billionaires List. That’s a slip from previous years, but it’s still extraordinary for someone whose last NBA game was over two decades ago.
Jordan’s $300 million earnings in 2024 alone pushed him ahead of active stars like Ronaldo, Messi, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods in annual income. And unlike them, Jordan hasn’t needed to set foot on a court, field, or course. His empire runs on the strength of his brand, business acumen, and the generational pull of the Jumpman logo.
Back in 1993, when Jordan temporarily retired after a three-peat, he joked that it would take a $300 million contract to lure him back to basketball if he played just for money. That figure seemed absurd at the time. Now, in a poetic twist, Jordan earns that every year and without having to break a sweat.
What makes Jordan different isn’t just that he was the best on the court; it’s that he turned being the best into a brand and then built that brand into a business. And in 2024, that business proved once again that the legend of Michael Jordan isn’t just alive, it’s thriving.
