Michael Jordan’s $10 Billion Worth Brand With Nike Had Some Weird Clauses
The birth of Air Jordan transformed Nike, made Jordan a billionaire & revolutionised the sneaker industry.
Jordan only wanted Adidas, Nike was clearly a compromise.
But this might not have been a reality.
Nike was a very young brand, and Jordan hadn’t scored a single basket yet. It was a scary deal for both parties.
He ends up with a 5-year contract of half a million dollars a year. But Nike had to contain their risk by adding these retrospectively funny stipulations to his contract.
Michael Jordan's contract would terminate if one of these two conditions were broken
Jordan comfortably accomplished them all.
Win Rookie of the Year, or Become an All-Star, or Average 20 points a game.
First, Jordan must get one of these:
Second, the company must sell $4M worth of shoes by the 3rd year
Revenue in just the 1st season
$126 MILLION
Annual Revenue Now
This shows how no one expected the Air Jordan brand to blow up the way it did.