David Falk, Who Came Up With ‘Air Jordan’ in 1 Minute, Astonishingly Took 20% Of Michael Jordan’s $40,000,000 Endorsements

Akash Murty | 16/05/2023
David Falk, Who Came Up 'Air Jordan' in 1 Minute, Astonishingly Took 20% Of Michael Jordan's $40,000,000 Endorsements

David Falk is the greatest, most powerful sports agent of all time. Michael Jordan might have been his most iconic client, but he has represented several NBA players, making most of his earnings from the endorsement deals he got them. Played by Chris Messina in the recent movie “Air”, you can watch how Falk came up with the “Air Jordan” name and never looked back.

He made millions himself by getting legends of the game like Patrick Ewing, Juan Howard, and Alonzo Mourning the fattest contracts ever. Under Falk, Howard became the 1st player to ever sign a $100 million contract.

At one point in time in the 90s, David had over 40 clients playing in all but 2 NBA teams. However, none of them combined made him as much money as Jordan made him throughout his 15 years in the NBA.

David Falk got MJ the biggest shoe deal in sports history

Falk had set his plan up in 1982 when he negotiated an 8-year, $150,000/year shoe deal for UNC’s James Worthy. Two years later, his new client, Michael Jordan, bagged a 5 year, $500,000/yr deal with Nike, marking a new era of deals and endorsement for athletes all over the world.

According to Wikipedia, Falk made 20% of all endorsement deals he made for Jordan and most of his other clients. From MJ alone he made roughly $8 million through $40,000,000 worth of endorsements he brought Jordan throughout his professional career that spanned from 1984 to 2003.

If Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Hakeem Olajuwon of the world also hired this $50 million worth agent, at the right time in their careers, they would have had as many endorsements as Jordan had.

“Magic Johnson should have been Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan”: MJ

David, working for ProServ, came into the picture in the mid-70s, handling the company’s NBA client. He represented the 1976 Draft’s number 1 pick, John Lucas, and 81’s Mark Aguirre, but missed out on both, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in 1979.

However, saying those legendary ballers missed out on him would be more accurate because he would have made Magic what Jordan became later.

“Magic Johnson should have been Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan. He had the smile, he had everything he had the marketability. He had championships,” Jordan once said according to The Ringer.

That, according to Jordan, was also the reason why Magic resented him early in his career. However, both of them developed good friends later on.

As far as money goes, Magic also made a lot of it after his retirement. In fact, he was the second-richest basketball player after MJ, before LeBron James took over.

Post Edited By: Samir Mehdi
David Falk Michael Jordan

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

Don’t miss these