Michael Jordan once admitted to never having once worn Nike shoes before signing with them in 1984.
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Michael Jordan and Nike go hand-and-hand and have done so for nearly 4 decades. Jordan Brand is its own sector underneath the Nike umbrella and reportedly brought in $5 billion this past fiscal year. Built from the ground up, none of it would’ve been possible if MJ had not signed with Nike in 1984.
According to ‘His Airness’ himself, he never actually liked Nike. During his collegiate seasons at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, he wore Converse. Converse dominated the basketball sneaker market with athletes like Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird sporting them in the league.
Along with Converse, Jordan was fascinated with Adidas. So Nike was never really on his radar prior to entering the league. He would even admit something that seems quite insane in hindsight.
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Michael Jordan never wore Nike shoes in his life up until signing a contract with them
During an interview with Cigar Aficionado in 2005, Michael Jordan admitted that not only was he not keen on being a Nike athlete, he had never once worn their product in his life.
During the ‘Last Dance’ docuseries, he would go on to admit that he didn’t even want to attend the meeting with Nike executives. The company had a reputation for making sneakers that were particularly designed for running, a sport MJ had nothing to do with.
Eventually, the 6x champ’s parents, especially his mother, got in the way and forced their son to attend the meeting. It’s safe to say that this was the right choice as he was sold the second he left that meeting. Fast-forward to today and a majority of his reported $1.7 billion net worth comes from royalties received from Jordan Brand sales.
What sold Michael Jordan when talking with Nike?
The main thing Nike did that other competitors simply didn’t was offer Jordan his own signature line. Not only did they want to give him his own shoe, they wanted to make him the face of their company.
Projected to rake in $3 million over the course of 4 years from 1984 to 1988, the brand brought in $126 million in the first year alone. After that, there was no stopping what Nike and Michael Jordan had put into motion.
