“Michael Jordan had to fulfill only ONE of Nike’s conditions, he fulfilled them ALL”: When a rookie MJ exceeded all expectations to get the biggest shoe deal in sports history

Akash Murty | 12/04/2022

Nike once gave Michael Jordan a set of conditions for his rookie season, he had to fulfill just one, but he chose to destroy all of them.

While Michael Jordan’s achievement in his rookie season might not be even in the top-5 because of the way his previous generation played the game, there has been no rookie better than him since then.

Jordan came into the league as a 3rd overall pick in 1984 which is arguably the greatest draft ever. It consisted of Hakeem Olajuwon (1st overall), Charles Barkley (5th overall), Alvin Robertson (7th overall), Otis Thorpe (9th overall), Kevin Willis (11th overall), and John Stockton (16th overall).

Also read: “Michael Jordan and Dejounte Murray, that’s it, that’s the list!”: The Spurs player becomes the second player after the Bulls legend to put up insane numbers

Although the Houston Rockets had their reasons to not let Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon slide when they were in dire need of a Center, there was no such reason for the Blazers to select Sam Bowie over ‘His Airness’, which would turn out to be the biggest draft blunders of all time.

But Mike did no such mistake in selecting which sneaker brand he would sign for while having offers from Adidas and Converse, which were the top brands at the time. Thanks to his mother, Jordan instead went for Nike and the rest, as we all know, is history.

Michael Jordan made a mockery of Nike’s clause in his Rookie season

While MJ signed a deal with Nike before his first season representing the Chicago Bulls in 1984, there were some clauses in the contract for him to fulfill if he were to be offered a top shoe deal in the league in his second season. For that to realize Jordan had to,

  • Win Rookie of the Year Award, or
  • Average 20 PPG, or
  • Become an All-Star, or
  • Sell $4M worth of shoes that year.

And guess what? The man did it all. Credits to NBA Twitter for the work behind this.

It would’ve been one thing if he just did those things but the future 6x Champion literally made a mockery of the clause, by averaging over 28 PPG, making All-Star and All-NBA teams, winning the ROTY award, and selling a mammoth $100 million worth of shoes.

Nike gladly kept its word after suddenly becoming the top Sports brand in the world out of nowhere. That outrageousness was obviously rewarded with the best brand deal in the history of any sports for around $130 million a year. The closest anyone could ever come to it would be LeBron James with Nike ($32 million per year).

Also read: “Michael Jordan is the Best Scorer in NBA history over Kevin Durant”: Stephen A. Smith says mentality is the factor why he keeps His Airness over The Slim Reaper

As Jordan set Nike to be the best sports apparel brand in the world, Nike had given the 5x MVP his own line of the brand, “Air Jordan” which has made him a Billionaire and also the richest athlete in the world. But still, “well deserved” would be an understatement here.

 

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
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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.

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