mobile app bar

“Michael Jordan rejected Johnson & Johnson because he was going bald”: When the Bulls legend turned down a big-money deal from lifestyle brand

Amulya Shekhar
Published

"Michael Jordan rejected Johnson & Johnson because he was going bald": When the Bulls legend turned down a big-money deal from lifestyle brand

Michael Jordan has been on countless commercials over the past 37 years or so. One of his unlikely endorsements was with Johnson & Johnson.

MJ is easily the most recognizable team sports athlete in American sports history. One might even go as far as to crown the GOAT as the most popular American athlete, period.

Jordan’s extremely wide-ranging endorsements include Gatorade, Wheaties, Hanes and of course, Nike with the Jordan Brand. There was a time when MJ also endorsed the lifestyle brand called Johnson & Johnson.

Also Read: “This is almost like buying the championship”: Stephen A Smith gives his honest reactions to LaMarcus Aldridge joining the Brooklyn Nets

But MJ says that he quit on his Johnson & Johnson endorsement because he knew he’d never put the products to use. It does make sense – as a balding 29-30-year-old athlete, MJ wouldn’t really be the best brand ambassador.

Why Michael Jordan dropped the Johnson & Johnson endorsement

MJ gave an interview to Playboy.com in 1992, at what was possibly the peak of his stardom. In this tell-all interview, Jordan emphasized that he only endorses products that he’d realistically use:

“My time is very important to me, as well as being credible about what I endorse. If I endorse McDonald’s, I go to McDonald’s and if I endorse Wheaties, I eat Wheaties.”

“If I endorse Gatorade, I drink Gatorade. I have cases of Gatorade, I love drinking Gatorade. I don’t endorse anything that I don’t actually use.”

Also Read: “Give me Allen Iverson coming out of Georgetown and he’s a billion-dollar athlete today”: LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul makes outrageous claim about marketing the Sixers legend

“If I wanted to be a hard-nosed businessman, I could have been in a lot of deals, like the one with Johnson Products. I had a deal with them for their hair-care products.”

“I had two or three more years on that deal when I started losing my hair. So I forfeited the deal. But if I had wanted to be greedy, I could’ve said, ‘Screw you, you didn’t know my hair was falling out, so you owe me money.’ But I didn’t.”

About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar

x-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-icon

Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

Share this article