Initially, Jordan was heavily leaning toward, making a deal with adidas but they weren’t looking to create a shoe with him and Nike was.
“My mother said, ‘You’re gonna go listen. You may not like it, but you’re gonna go listen,” Jordan said in ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, according to NBC Sports. “She made me get on that plane and go listen.”
“[I] go into that meeting not wanting to be there, and Nike made this big pitch,” Jordan said, according to NBC Sports, “My father said, ‘You’d have to be a fool not taking this deal. This is the best deal.’”
Since its launch, Air Jordan has been recognized as a cultural staple.
AfroTech also previously shared that the Jordan Brand began operating independently in 1997 and today, earns annual revenue of over $5 billion.
Within the longtime partnership, a report broke down the difference between what Jordan has made from Nike and vice versa to see just how “mutually beneficial” it is.
For fiscal 2022, Nike’s Jordan Brand reportedly raked in $5.1 billion, according to Front Office Sports.
On the other end, Jordan is said to have earned an estimated $256.1 million — a reported five percent thanks to his deal with the company.
The outlet also noted that the Jordan Brand earned $19.4 billion in revenue over the last five fiscal years.
While the numbers for fiscal 2022 are reported estimates, Jordan’s net worth is $1.7 billion (as of this writing), according to Forbes.
Additionally, the outlet reported in 2020 that he had raked in over $1 billion from Nike.
