Report: Michael Jordan made more in endorsements last year than he did playing in the NBA
It’s no secret that Michael Jordan’s done pretty well for himself in the business world since ending his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards in 2003. The legendary guard is a literal billionaire, having used his significant sway as an endorser to build his own apparel empire with Nike’s Jordan Brand and parlayed that windfall into an ownership stake with the Charlotte Bobcats, now re-christened the Hornets, which Forbes earlier this year valued at $725 million, a significant increase over the reported $175 million M.J. paid Robert Johnson to become the controlling owner of the franchise back in 2010. (Of note: the NBA recently told Mike he has to separate his church from his state when it comes to Jordan Brand dealings with NBA players.)
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During a report this weekend on the mammoth money invested in the shoe game and a Brooklyn Musem exhibit dedicated to the art of sneaker culture, PBS’ “NewsHour” provided pretty remarkable way to crystallize just how financially successful Jordan’s post-playing career has been:
Yep, that’s right: M.J. made more money from sneaker sales last year than he did from his on-court work during one of the greatest professional careers in the history of sports. (Woe unto those who ever doubted whether it was the shoes.)
As many have noted, there’s a caveat here. The total amount of Jordan’s salaries during his 15 years with the Bulls and Wizards — whether the right number’s just over $90.2 million, according to Basketball-Reference.com, or $94 million, according to Forbes — isn’t adjusted for inflation; the $3.25 million Jordan made during the 1991-92 season, for example, had the same buying power as $5.69 million today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator. (What’s really funny: if you try to find out how much M.J.’s record-setting $33.1 million salary for the ’97-’98 season would be worth in 2015 dollars, the calculator responds, “Error: Please use values less than 10,000,000.” I’m sure Jerry Reinsdorf would agree.)
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Jordan continues to rake in career-topping cash year after year because his brand — the one he so determinedly defends against dilution — still stands unconquered on the sneaker market, according to Forbes’ Kurt Badenhousen:
Nike’s Jordan Brand is a financial juggernaut. Jordan U.S. shoe sales rose 17% last year to $2.6 billion, according to data compiled by SportScanInfo. Jordan has eight times the sales of the signature shoes for the top active NBA star,LeBron James. Jordan apparel and the international business add more than $1 billion as well. The Jordan Brand commanded 58% market share of the $4.2 billion U.S. basketball shoe market last year, up from 54% in 2013. The Swoosh’s share jumps to 95.5% if you include Nike Basketball. The competition: Adidas (2.6% share), Under Armour (1%) and Reebok (0.8%).
“Nike has done an unbelievable job evolving the Jordan Brand from pure basketball to a more lifestyle brand,” says Eric Tracy, an analyst who tracks Nike at Janney Capital Markets. “That inherently pulls in a much larger target market.” Tracy also points to Nike’s ability to exploit the sneakerhead phenomenon, which is second to none. They are constantly refreshing the Jordan retro line, which represents about 50% of the Jordan shoe business. Nike leaves a little money on the table by never producing enough to meet demand, but this always leaves Jordan fans wanting more.
And because they’re always wanting more, Jordan’s always making more … to, like, a staggering degree. Jordan wasn’t able to completely cash in on the value of his talents during his playing career, but now, thanks to the sheer power of the cult of personality he created during that time, he continues to rake it in hand over fist.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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