Despite Michael Jordan’s 5% Royalty Nike Deal, Dennis Rodman Brashly Rejected $1 Million Because Of 1 Reason

Michael Jordan and his Air Jordan 1s were slated to make $3 million in sales over the course of 3 years. This type of money would’ve been considered a profit by Phil Knight and Nike. What they didn’t expect was to make a whopping $126 million in the first year of the 1s’ release alone. 

Nike has been riding the Jordan wave ever since. He’s their most profitable athlete with all of the re-releases and constant output of newer hoop shoes with modern day signature athletes. MJ sits pretty as he gets a 5% royalty on every single Jordan shoe sold and with them making $5 billion last year, it’s safe to say he’s set for life. 

One teammate of his who also signed with Nike for a short period of time was none other than Dennis Rodman. He’s had a multitude of signature shoes across multiple brands, with the ‘swoosh’ being the most prominent of them all.

Also read: Immersed in $1 Million Debt, Dennis Rodman Failed to Pay $9000 to his Ex-Wife Prior to Joining the Bulls

Dennis Rodman left $1 million on the table 

Dennis Rodman signed with Nike for a 3-year deal that paid him $500,000 a year. In this deal, he would finally have his own signature shoe released under his name. The Nike Air Worm Ndestrukt was Rodman’s first signature sneaker with Nike and it was even retroed in 2017. 

He would also wear standard Nike hoop shoes like the Air Darwin and the Air Revolution. However, a year after signing his 3-year deal, he would look to exit that contract of his, earning only $500,000 out of a possible $1.5 million. 

Nike would have mutual interest in disassociating themselves with Rodman as a source from Nike claimed he had ‘crossed a thin line of acceptable notoriety’. 

Dennis Rodman signed with Converse after Nike 

After leaving Nike, Converse swooped in and picked ‘The Worm’ up. They would immediately push out multiple signature models for him to wear, the first being the Converse All-Star Springfield that he wore in 1997. 

The second would be a more personal shoe, with the logo having been inspired by one of his most iconic tattoos. This would be the Converse AS Rodman which would get followed up by the All-Star D-Rod and All Star 91.

Also read: Dennis Rodman, Who Gambled Away $200,000, Tried To Out-Drink Kim Jong-Un In North Korea