Michael Jordan isn’t just an NBA legend, he is way more than that. Although Jordan’s success can be all linked to his career in the league, but even after retiring from the NBA, Mike used his popularity to its fullest and reached billionaire status.
A huge contributor to Michael Jordan reaching that status is none other than the success of the Jordan Brand under the umbrella of Nike. MJ signed with the Swoosh brand in 1984, despite initially wanting to sign with Adidas.
It was Michael Jordan’s mother who convinced him to take the Nike deal, and it resulted in arguably one of the best decisions that MJ made in his life. Despite doing so much for Nike, he still doesn’t own a huge stake in the brand.
John Salley Once Explained Why Nike Didn’t Give Michael Jordan A Big Stake In The Brand
Although Michael Jordan earns a substantial amount of money from the Jordan Brand following its crossing $5 Billion in revenue for the first time, many expect MJ to have a major stake in Nike. However, that’s not the case, and former NBA player John Salley explained the reason behind it in an interview in 2019 with VladTV.
“What’s so funny is that the blacks make all of the standards. It is the craziest thing that is the standard in sports, entertainment, and art. It’s the standard, but it doesn’t get to run the company that will know how to manipulate or to exploit that entity. It makes sense. You don’t want any of the captives coming from the cages to be up with the emperor, it’s just not how it works.”
Salley believes the reason behind Jordan not being among the top shareholders of Nike is because of his race. Salley gave an epic quote about all the big-name companies keeping black people out of the top ranks in the said companies.
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