Michael Jordan’s competitiveness is unmatched. He never entered any contest without the absolute conviction that he would end up winning, and when he couldn’t get the W, you know he would try harder next time to make sure that didn’t happen again. Whatever he did, MJ was ready to give his everything and get the maximum benefit from it.
The biggest example of that was his basketball career. Still, even after he left the court for good, MJ started getting involved in new areas, always trying to get some victories. Whether it is his fishing boat, his NASCAR team, or the Charlotte Hornets, MJ is constantly trying to add more wins to his already impressive resume.
However, one of his biggest wins didn’t happen on a court, a race track, or on his boat. The Jordan Brand was a big gamble for MJ and Nike, who see him as a big figure for the future. In the beginning, they weren’t that popular, and it wasn’t until Jordan arrived that the sales went up.
The Jordan sneakers are iconic now, making Jordan a lot of money. In the past year, the brand made over $5 billion for the first time ever, which meant His Airness would get a huge check. Joe Pompliano recently took to Twitter to explain how impactful Jordan was for this.
The Jordan Brand just crossed $5 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
That means Michael Jordan made $150M+ from Nike last year alone—or nearly 2x his career NBA earnings.
The part you didn't know?
Without this man, it would've never happened.
Here's the story 👇 pic.twitter.com/JBKzu1NqLJ
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 30, 2022
The Jordan Brand just crossed $5 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
That means Michael Jordan made $150M+ from Nike last year alone—or nearly 2x his career NBA earnings.
The part you didn’t know?
Without this man, it would’ve never happened.
Amid a dispute between former Nike employees and the brand, Jordan was in the middle of a battle to get his services. The former employees tried to steal him from Nike and even took the initial designs for the Air Jordan III. In a last-minute move, Tinker Hatfield presented Jordan with a design with his logo instead of Nike’s, and the Chicago Bulls legend fell in love with that.
6) With five weeks until Nike's presentation, Tinker Hatfield used his visit with MJ to decipher exactly what he wanted in a shoe.
"Michael had ever been worked with that way."
Hatfield returned to Oregon with instructions—MJ wanted a mid-top shoe with exotic print leather. pic.twitter.com/EnfaMD7Jm2
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 30, 2022
7) But 3 weeks later, there was another problem.
Nike CEO Phil Knight & Tinker Hatfield flew to California to present the Air Jordan III to Michael Jordan.
But MJ was four hours late to the meeting, as he was playing golf with former Nike employees Rob Strasser & Peter Moore. pic.twitter.com/BycpVkuDRh
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 30, 2022
8) To add insult to injury, Michael Jordan wasn't just playing golf with Rob Strasser & Peter Moore.
The two officially pitched MJ on a full apparel & sneaker deal for their new company "Van Grack."
So after telling Phil Knight about the deal, MJ said: "show me what you got."
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 30, 2022
10) Also, unbeknownst to Phil Knight, Tinker Hatfield presented Michael Jordan with a shoe and apparel design centered around the now-iconic Jumpman logo.
And MJ fell in love with the idea of building his own brand, rather than collecting a check.
He agreed to stay with Nike.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 30, 2022
11) After Michael Jordan fell in love with Tinker Hatfield's Air Jordan III design, the rest is history.
Nike launched the "It's gotta be the shoes" ad campaign with Spike Lee.
And MJ took care of the rest—wearing the Air Jordan III's during his iconic free throw line dunk. pic.twitter.com/ujwYo6tua5
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 30, 2022
After that moment, Jordan decided to create his own brand, making one of the best business decisions in the world of sports. Right now, Jordan makes $150 million per year with his brand, which is four times more than any current NBA player.
We could be telling a completely different story right now, but Nike must be happy that Hatfield took a risk, MJ liked it, and the relationship with the player only got better from that point.
