Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. However, there is an argument that Jordan, the brand, scaled even more success than the player even.
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MJ and his brand were iconic enough to set itself distinctly in the market even and earned MJ billionaire status. This was the first ever instance of an athlete achieving such a status on global rich lists.
However, things could have been much different for Michael Jordan. In 1984, when he was approaching his league debut, Nike made a big step by making him the face of the brand. While it was seen as a gamble, Jordan’s value wasn’t entirely lost on other brands too.
MJ wasn’t quite an unknown quantity after his heroics for UNC and at the Olympics, but neither was he a sure-shot superstar either. But even then, another brand, Spot-Bilts decided to match Nike’s offer. That too, upon the recommendation of another superstar – OJ Simpson.
OJ Simpson told Spot-Bilts how “the kid out of Carolina is the next” OJ for the brand.
Spot-Bilts, now Saucony, was making an attempt to solidify its stance as a competitor in the shoe market. OJ Simpson, the later infamous NFL star, was the face of the brand in the USA and they were an up-and-comer in the market.
Simpson’s suggestion, if it worked out, would definitely have changed the face of the shoe market. Nike’s success was aided majorly by their decision to get MJ on board, and maybe things would have turned up for Spot-Bilts too if it was them that got their hands to the Jordan lottery.
As revealed by The Last Dance director, Jason Hehir, “They matched the [Nike] offer. Michael Jordan came this close to being with Spot-Bilt because the spokesman for Spot-Bilt at the time was another athlete who had broken and transcended some racial bounds, a guy named O.J. Simpson. And he said to the guys at Spot-Bilt: ‘The kid out of Carolina is the next me. Go get him.”
From Michael Jordan’s perspective, considering how things fared for Spot-Bilts and Nike, he may have dodged a bullet. Nike earned Jordan millions, even earning him enough to gather more than active athletes to date.
Jordan earned $256.1 million from Nike in 2022.
Passing on Nike could have cost Jordan a quarter of a billion in just 2022 alone. The deal struck in 1984 might just be the biggest win-win move in NBA history.
Nike’s market, even in 1984, was what attracted Jordan to them over Spot-Bilts in 1984. Hehir, while revealing what happened, stated that “So they matched Nike’s offer, but they couldn’t match the market. They couldn’t promise David Falk that they would market Michael the way that Nike would, and that ultimately is what put that [Nike] deal over the top financially for them”.
Jordan’s agent Falk and his advice proved key in this regard. Giving a rookie a signature shoe proved to be a tough bargaining point, but certainly proved to be a home-run risk.
Also read: Earning Merely 5% From Jordan Brand, Michael Jordan Has Brought In $19 Billion For Nike In 5 Years
