It’s Time For Michael Jordan To Renegotiate His Deal With Nike

By: Mark T. Wilson

No matter who you ask, Michael Jordan is mentioned as one of or the greatest NBA player of All-Time. The debate rages on where he ranks as far as skills but there is no debating on where he ranks as far as influence on and off the court. Nike transformed the sneaker game when they signed Jodan in 1984. While the Nike Brand has blossomed into one of the top apparel companies in the world, it’s still The Jordan Brand that drives the ship.

It was reported that The Jordan Brand in 2021 made $5 Billion dollars alone. Yes, you read that correctly. The Jordan Brand, not Nike finished the year with $5 billion in sales. There are a few reasons why this is significant. One main reason is that Micahel Jordan himself took home $150M from those sales. Yes, that’s a nice check to be cut but when you look deeper, Nike is not doing Jordan any favors.

Let’s do the math here. The Jordan Brand sold $5 Billion worth of products and Jordan took home $150M. What seems a bit out of place are the numbers and the reason. Let’s note that Jordan does not own The Jordan Brand, Nike does. But still, it’s the Jordan mystic that sells the shoes. No other player of his magnitude has a brand that sells the way his does. While a deal was struck years ago, I believe it’s time for Jordan to head back to the negotiating table to ask for more.

According to reports, Michael Jordan makes 5% off every sale from The Jordan Brand. That may be suitable for someone just getting into the business but Jordan is not your average person. His shoes are popular. Maybe popular is not the correct word to use when describing the iconic shoe. Jordans are the staple that every shoe in the world strives to be.

Does Nike Owe Jordan More

Travel anywhere in this world and you will see someone with a fresh pair of Air Jordans on. It doesn’t matter if it’s basketball courts, the gym, weddings, in your neighborhood, or boardroom meetings, Jordans are being rocked. So, to know that a company with his name only netted him $150M from $5 Billion, well, that’s a bit disrespectful. To be fair, Jordan has made over $1.3 Billion since 1984 off Nike. That’s almost 40 years of business together. That’s something to really think about.

Ok, I get the argument that we have to take into account manufacturers and everything else that comes into play. But still, that number is too low for your main brand ambassador. If Nike sold $5 Billion and Jordan was just the face (no name), this would be a bit more understandable. But The Jordan Brand is based on and built around Michael Jordan.

There is no way I can blame Nike for this. The fault lies with Jordan and his lawyers. If a new deal cannot be reached, my advice to Michael Jordan is to take his name back. No one buys Jordans because of the Nike symbol. Hell, the Nike symbol is not even on most of the Jordan’s except the Jordan 1s.

If Jordan were to leave Nike and decide he wanted to manufacture his own line, they would still sell the same. These are not Air Force 1s were talking about. The $150M annually is a good chunk of change, far more than I will probably ever see and far more than any other athlete with a shoe deal. But once again, this is The Jordan Brand we’re talking about. There is not another brand like this in the world.

This is not a popular topic to discuss due to the fact that many believe that Jordan is getting a fair deal. Well, in some eyes he may be. But for me, I know there is no way I will allow a company to use my name and my accolades to make $5 Billion and cut me a small slice of the pie. Let’s be honest here, without Michael Jordan, there would probably be no Nike.