After winning two titles with Benetton, Michael Schumacher was ready to join a big-name team in F1 by 1995. Today, we all know about how he made history at Ferrari, but it was never his first priority to join them. Instead, he wanted to join Williams but their absurd $10,000,000 rule made him do what Michael Jordan did with Nike.
Jordan’s partnership with Nike was revolutionary and very well documented. But the NBA legend never wanted to sign with them in the first place. Michael Jordan himself revealed that he did not initially want to associate with Nike. He wanted a deal with Adidas, who were dominating the sneaker market in 1984. Adidas also wanted to sign up Jordan with them. However, the German sneaker giants apparently shut down the deal because they believed Jordan was too short for the planned image that they wanted to project.
Similarly, Schumacher wanted to join Williams, which was seemingly the better choice at the moment. In the end, however, was convinced by Ferrari’s project after his Williams negotiations fell through. F1 history, however, could have been very different, had Sir Frank Williams not adhered to their bizarre rule.
What was the $10 Million rule at Williams all about?
Michael Schumacher, as mentioned, was one of the biggest stars in F1 in 2995. He was coming on the back of two world titles and there were very few drivers who could challenge him based on skill and talent. Therefore it was no surprise that Williams wanted to recruit Schumacher for his team. However, Frank Williams had a strict rule about the amount of money that he would spend on his driver. The British boss did not want to spend more than $10 million per year for any driver.
Given the achievements and qualifications that Schumacher was arriving with, $10 Million seemed too less for him. Ferrari was ready to offer him more than twice that amount. Frank Williams said, “I would have loved to have had Michael in my team. I did try once. We had a couple of conversations with Willi Weber at the end of 1995.”
He explained further, “The desire was serious, but we had never paid a driver the kind of sums they were asking. It’s nice to dream. Michael is an absolutely fantastic driver, up there with the best.” However, it should be noted that Frank Williams had made slight exceptions to his $10 Million rule before. Williams had paid quite a bit more than his stipulated amount to Alain Prost in 1993 and Ayrton Senna in 1994. The British team reportedly paid $20 Million to the Brazilian to race for them in 1994.
However, Williams refused to budge when it came to Michael Schumacher. Williams finally signed up the rookie Canadian Jacques Villeneuve. Villeneuve would then go on and prove his mettle by winning the 1997 World Championship with Williams.
Did Michael Schumacher and Michael Jordan make the right call?
Both Michael Schumacher and Michael Jordan had to compromise with their initial choices and settle for an alternative choice. However, with how things turned out for them, it’s safe to say that their choices ultimately paid off.
Michael Jordan ended up signing a $2.5 million contract with Nike in 1984, and the rest is history. As of 2020, the Basketball legend has racked up more than $1.3 billion from his deal with Nike.
Michael Schumacher had a very similar fate at Ferrari. The German solidified his position as one of the best F1 drivers of all time with Ferrari. Schumacher went on to win five consecutive world championships with Ferrari. He helped the Scuderia get their name back to the top of F1, and became the fabled team’s greatest signing of all time.
Still, in 1996, it would have seemed that Williams made the correct decision by not taking in Schumacher. The British team had their drivers win the World Championship in 1996 and 1997. However, that would be their last time winning the trophy. Therefore, things might have been different if Sir Frank Williams had decided to compromise for Michael Schumacher.
