NBA World would love to recollect how the Michael Jordan’s deal with NIKE unfolded

Michael Jordan signed a contract with Nike in 1984, while he was just beginning his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). At the time, Adidas and Converse were the undisputed leaders in the sneaker industry.

It appeared that Jordan was going to deal with Adidas before he joined forces with Nike, but ultimately he decided to sign with the latter. The teenager was presented with a more lucrative offer from Nike, which Jordan was unable to decline because of his financial situation.

Jordan decided to take Nike up on their offer of $500,000 per year for five years. It was completely unreasonable for a footwear maker at the time to pay a player that kind of money. But Nike, along with the rest of the NBA, recognized Jordan’s one-of-a-kind qualities and chose to devote its entire resources to the Air Jordan brand.

Nike Air Jordan was first released in late 1984, about the same time that Michael Jordan wore his now-iconic shoes for the first time.

The fact that Jordan wore them during the game gave rise to a lot of discussions. In this league, the participants were required to wear white shoes of any brand, although the color was not specified.

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Michael Jordan Had to Pay a Fee of $5,000 Every Time He Wore Those Sneakers

The colors red, black, and white, which are worn by the Chicago Bulls, were featured on the Air Jordans. Because of this, Jordan had to pay a fee of $5,000 every time he wore those sneakers. Although this was the case, it was irrelevant given that Nike was willing to fund any expenses necessary to promote his footwear.

Michael Jordan was able to build a sufficient amount of hype before the official introduction of the Air Jordans in retail locations. Sales of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers were far above projections when they were initially released in 1985.

A pair of Air Jordan sneakers worn by Michael Jordan during the 1998 @NBA Finals are expected to fetch up to $4 million when they hit the auction block next month.https://t.co/DlthvBGiV9

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 20, 2023

In just the first year, Air Jordans brought in a total of $126 million in revenue. These shoes helped propel Nike to the forefront of the sneaker industry.

Jordan went on to carve out a reputation for himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. His sneaker line became so successful that it is now widely regarded as the best sneaker line in the history of the industry. According to Centuro Global, Michael Jordan had accumulated $1.3 billion in earnings from his deal with Nike as of the year 2020.

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