Michael Jordan Spent a Fraction of His $1.7 Billion Fortune to Fuel Long-Time Friend Derek Jeter’s Ambitious MLB Dream

A friend in need is a friend indeed. It certainly came true for the baseball legend Derek Jeter when his long-time friend and six times NBA champion Michael Jordan came to his rescue. The baseball icon got retired in 2014 and three years later showed interest in buying the baseball team Miami Marlins. 

A group led by the shortstop was looking for potential investors to collect the necessary funds required for sale. After trying for months, in June 2017, the Captain was still short of funds and even told Major League Baseball that he might not be able to complete the deal because of the lack of funds.

Then came an old and close friend worth $1.7 billion to the rescue of the baseball legend and helped him take over the Marlins. 

How much stake does Michael Jordan own in Marlins?

A group led by Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush had come to a deal of $1.2 billion for buying Marlins in April 2017. But since they could not come up with the funds, Bush left Jeter’s group. 

But that was not going to hinder Jeter’s dream of buying the team. His close friend and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan came in and became a partial owner. He helped Jeter with the funds required to close the deal. 

When Jeter went to one of his closest friends for advice, he said, “If you believe in the plan, stick to the plan. Don’t alter it midstream.” 

In the deal, Jordan owned 1% of the franchise, whereas Derek owned 4% and became the CEO of Marlins. Jordan’s 1% stake in the Marlins at that time was roughly about $5 million. 

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Had MJ not come to become a part owner of the team, Jeter may have lost out on the deal entirely. At last, it is only true friends who come to the rescue.

Why did Jeter leave Marlins?

Under the leadership of Jeter, for four full seasons, Miami had 218 game wins, while they lost out on 327. Then in 2020, Marlins made it to the playoffs. Which was rather shocking as the season was shortened that year because of the pandemic.

Watch this story: Derek Jeter steps down as CEO of Miami Marlins – What went down as Yankees legend walked

As per the reports, Jeter and Sherman (main owner of the Marlins), came to disagreements on many things. Due to those disagreements, Jeter could not see himself as the owner of the team anymore. He said that the vision of the team is changed, and it is not what he envisioned. Therefore, it was the right time for him to leave the team.