Michael Jordan signed with Nike back in October 1984. The Chicago Bulls legend was already considered one of the best prospects to ever enter the league. While his agent, Falk, was said to be hostile towards Nike, the reality was far different. Falk had worked with Nike’s Rob Strasser to sell the idea to Jordan. The two also pitched Jordan to various Nike executives, as well as Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, according to Roland Lazenby’s “Michael Jordan: The Life.”
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Jordan’s growing status meant that Nike had to adopt an individualistic approach towards related marketing, such as they did for lawn tennis players. David Falk already had a relationship with Jordan’s coach Dean Smith which helped Nike eventually sign Jordan. David Falk had a long and fruitful relationship with Jordan, pocketing around $8 million from His Airness.
Nike pitched a unique marketing approach to convince Michael Jordan
Rob Strasser had previously worked with David Falk for plenty of other players. However, the marketing deals with NBA stars always revolved around the teams they played for.
However, Jordan was already on the path to global superstardom. This means that Strasser approached Falk with a unique, tennis-player-like marketing plan.
Michael Jordan obviously had to be marketed as an individual, and the approach eventually led to the creation of the Air Jordans as well. The deal in itself seemed unlikely at the beginning, considering Jordan had threatened a Nike talent scout, Sonny Vaccaro, who had organized a secret meeting with his sister:
“Falk and Strasser had worked deals with other athletes, and they agreed that Jordan should be marketed as they might market a tennis player, as an individual, more than as a basketball player, who had been traditionally marketed through team connections.”
Nike’s deal with MJ led to the creation of Air Jordans
Michael Jordan was reportedly not keen to sign for Nike initially. He wanted to sign for Adidas and had Converse as his second option.
It was only because of the unique approach that Nike took, and Falk’s relationship with Nike that convinced Jordan. This was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship that made Michael Jordan a billionaire.
The 60-year-old is said to have a net worth of around $2 billion. His deal with Nike alone has netted him around $1.3 billion, to date. Needless to say, Jordan will be delighted with his choice of signing for Nike, instead of his initial choices.
Of course, the deal proved highly profitable for David Falk himself, who reportedly took in 20% of Michael Jordan’s overall endorsements until 2003, which are said to be worth $40 million. This one deal alone made Falk at least $8 million.
