Financially, things couldn’t get any better for NBA legend Michael Jordan. His brand, a Nike subsidiary, makes so much money globally that the basketball icon now earns tens of times what she earned when she was playing.
What began as a shoe deal with a young player ends up as a multi-billion dollar subsidiary of Nike: Jordan Brand.
The Jordan Brand not only sponsors a number of active NBA stars, but also many clubs in various leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NASCAR, WNBA and in European football: Paris Saint-Germain.
Looking back, Nike can thank its biggest competitor Adidas for the Jordan brand. As the? Well, in 1984, Michael Jordan wanted to sign with Adidas, but Adidas executives opted for bigger (then) players.
Front Office Sports reports: Jordan Brand generated sales of $19.4 billion over the past five fiscal years. In fiscal year 2022 it was $5.1 billion, Jordan himself received five percent as part of his contract with Nike.
Based on those numbers, Jordan is believed to have made $256.1 million last year from licensing his name to Nike. Jordan earned about $90 million in salary during his NBA career. According to Forbes, his net worth today is $1.7 billion.
The connection between the NBA legend and Nike dates back to 1984, when Jordan was in his freshman year in the pro league.
Originally posted by OpenCourt Basketball, Michael Jordan made far more than his entire career combined in 2022 alone.
