“Honestly Didn’t Think He Was Gonna Do It”: Adam Silver Gets Frank On Michael Jordan’s Deal With NBC

Commissioner Adam Silver reacts to Michael Jordan joining NBC as a 'special contributor' for NBA coverage next season.

4 Min Read

Michael Jordan stunned the NBA world yet again with the news of his return from retirement. But this time, his return is as part of the NBA media. Which, if you know about Jordan’s personality, is also shocking, considering he doesn’t like engaging with the media himself. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently appeared on Dan Patrick’s show, where they spoke about several subjects around the NBA. When addressing Michael Jordan’s deal with NBC, he admitted he did not believe it was going to happen when he first heard about it. He claims he had no role in convincing Jordan to return or any influence on this deal of any kind. 

“I mean, they told me they were going to try, and I said ‘good luck’. I honestly didn’t think he was going to do it. You know it took us decades to convince him to do the documentary ‘The Last Dance’ which came out during the pandemic and ended up, still I think, is one of the you know widely viewed on Netflix. But he didn’t want to do that for a long time, we had the footage.”

Silver then went on to attribute the credit for this deal to Jordan’s relationship with NBC employees. They were the primary broadcasters of the NBA during Jordan’s playing days, and hence, several staff members had a personal relationship with Jordan.

“I know there were other inquiries over the years, and I think he, for whatever reason he was ready to do it now. I think he has, of course, incredibly fond memories of NBC. I don’t think that’s lost on anyone. Some of the very same people are there, people like John Miller whom he had a relationship from back all those years ago, Mark Lazarus was still there, just switched over to the other side of the operation. But I think like he had those relationships, and again I didn’t discourage them, but I was surprised he said yes.”


Why Is Michael Jordan Returning? 

Considering his intention will look to directly impact the viewership ratings of the league, one would assume this move was initiated by the commissioner’s office. However, Silver has clarified he had no role in making this deal happen. Rather, it was Jordan himself who initiated this idea.

According to sources, Jordan believes that players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and James Harden are not getting the credit they deserve from the modern generation of NBA fans. Moreover, he feels his fans have been critical of the modern-era players and believes if he himself were to tell them why they shouldn’t do that, maybe they will listen and respect the game more. 

Some rumors and reports claimed that Jordan would be receiving a $40 million paycheck for his services to NBC. But sources have also claimed that this report is inaccurate. 

While he may be earning more or less than the rumored sum, it is clear that he intends to promote the game and not fill his pockets. But as the greatest player of all time, he’s in a position to command any fee he deems worthy of doing this with NBC. Will Jordan’s return help boost NBA ratings? Or is this a last-ditch effort that will go in vain? It will be interesting to see how this deal impacts the NBA next season. 

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Chaitanya Dadhwal is an NBA Analyst and Columnist at Fadeaway World from New Delhi, India. He fell in love with basketball in 2018 after seeing James Harden in his prime. He joined the sports journalism world in 2021, one year before finishing his law school in 2022. He attended Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India, where his favorite subject was also Sports Law.He transitioned from law to journalism after realizing his true passion for sports and basketball in particular. Even though his journalism is driven by his desire to understand both sides of an argument and give a neutral perspective, he openly admits he is biased towards the Houston Rockets and Arsenal. But that intersection of in-depth analysis and passion helps him simplify the fine print and complex language for his readers.His goal in life is to open his own sports management agency one day and represent athletes. He wants to ensure he can help bridge the gap in equal opportunity for athletes across various sports and different genders playing the same sport.
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