“Michael Jordan almost signed with Estudiantes for $12 million and golf lessons during the 1999 NBA lockout”: How an insane deal almost got the Bulls GOAT to play in the Spanish league

During the 1999 NBA lockout, Michael Jordan had almost signed a four-month $12 million contract with Estudiantes of the Spanish league ACB.

After dominating college basketball for nearly 3 years, it didn’t take long for Michael Jordan to become a superstar in the NBA. Over the span of his 15-year career, the Chicago Bulls leader managed to achieve almost every accolade possible. With a resume as stacked as his – 14 All-Stars, 11 All-NBA, 5 MVPs, 6 championships, and 6 Finals MVPs – it is pretty accurate to regard him as the basketball GOAT.

Jordan played for two franchises in three stints throughout his career – the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. However, back in 1999, “His Airness” was very close to playing for a team you might not have even heard about.

Also Read: When Bob Knight explained why the Bulls GOAT and not LeBron James was the best to ever play the game

During the 1999 NBA lockout, Adecco Estudiantes Madrid of the Liga ACB (Spanish basketball league) made MJ an offer so good, that he couldn’t refuse.

Adecco Estudiantes Madrid offered Michael Jordan $12 million and private golf lessons from legend Severiano Ballesteros

Founded in 1948, Adecco Estudiantes Madrid is one of the most renowned basketball clubs in Spain. After Michael’s 2^nd stint with the Bulls, the ACB club offered Mike a bizarre deal that would get him $12 million and special private golf lessons with Severiano Ballesteros, a 5-time European title winner, to play for 4 months.

According to Paco Torres, the director of Spanish newspaper “Gigantes”, Adecco allocated 2,000 million pesetas to get Jordan to play for them.

“It was a worldwide operation,” said Paco Torres, director of Gigantes. “The budget was separate from the specific sponsorship of Estudiantes. Adecco, at its headquarters in San Francisco, had approved those 2,000 million for Jordan to wear the Estudiantes jersey. The impact would have been immediate: everything MJ touches turns into gold.”

Paco further stated that MJ’s agent actually considered the offer but the NBA lockout ended before they could go ahead with the deal.

“Jordan’s agents came to assess the offer, which was real, but the lockout ended before it could have reached Michael himself.”

Also Read: How Michael Jordan’s teammate fell from being a million dollar athlete to worth only $500,000 because of a fraudulent advisory 

Unfortunately, we never got to see Michael play in the Spanish league. We can only imagine just how dominant Jordan would’ve been. To date, this remains one of the biggest ‘what ifs?’ in NBA history.