James Jordan, Michael Jordan’s father, was tragically murdered in July 1993, at the age of 56. His funeral was held a few months later, in August. The then-Chicago Bulls player had signed for Nike at the start of his career, in 1986. Since then, Jordan had grown close to Nike co-founder Phil Knight over the years. In his book, “Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike,” Knight revealed a touching story of his bond with Michael Jordan.
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Phil Knight further revealed that he had grown very close to the athletes he signed for Nike over the years. This included golf great Tiger Woods, who first signed for Nike in 1996.
Michael Jordan reserved a seat for Phil Knight at his father’s funeral
The heartfelt gesture that Knight wrote about was when Jordan invited him to his father’s funeral. Upon arriving, Knight was touched to find that Jordan had reserved a seat for him in the first row. In his memoir, Knight also shared a variety of stories about the kind of relationships he built during his time at Nike. In one part of the book, Knight claimed he eventually developed close relationships with the sportspeople he signed for the company.
This included the likes of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, widely considered the GOATs of their sports. Knight said that these players had become like family to him, referencing how he was invited by both Jordan and Woods to their fathers’ funerals:
“They’re all like sons, and brothers—family. No less. When Tiger’s father, Earl, dies, the church in Kansas holds fewer than one hundred, and I’m honored to be included. When Jordan’s father is murdered, I fly to North Carolina for the funeral and discover with a shock that a seat is reserved for me in the front row.”
MJ wanted to sign for Adidas or Converse instead of Nike
Michael Jordan signed with Nike back in 1986. His initial choice was Adidas, and the 2nd option he had earmarked was Converse.
For Nike to sign Jordan, they first had to blow him away. This was managed by the likes of Rob Strasser and David Falk, the latter being Jordan’s agent.
The plan was to market Michael Jordan not as a team player, but as a separate entity, or a brand, much the same approach that Nike took up for tennis stars. Eventually, the deal worked out. This was despite the fact that Jordan was initially convinced the Air Jordans would turn out to be a fad that would die out.
Of course, that is not at all what happened. The deal with Nike has helped Jordan earn as much as $1.3 billion to date, which continues to increase.
