“Good pain in the a**” Ensured Michael Jordan’s Linkup with Tennis Legend Who Recently Became the Highest Off-Court Earner in Sports at a Staggering $90 million

Michael Jordan was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA Draft. And barely a year later, the Hall of Famer had his own Nike edition, called ‘Air Jordan’. The idea for Air Jordan came up when Jordan was still considered a rookie in the league. The first edition was launched on April 1, 1985, and was designed by Tinker Hatfield, Peter Moore, and Bruce Kilgore.

Additionally, Nike also collaborated with Roger Federer and launched the Nike Zoom Vapor 9 Tour in 2012. The shoes were designed by the same designer as Air Jordan, Hatfield. In 2014, Nike decided to merge the basketball and tennis worlds. The brand bought together two sportsmen who are legends in their respective sports. Before the new edition was launched, the two great players got together to talk about the shoes and the behind them.

Michael Jordan and Roger Federer’s special collaboration

Two years after the Nike Zoom Vapor 9 Tour was launched, tennis legend Roger Federer collaborated with Nike and NBA star Michael Jordan. Federer had expressed a year ago, in 2013, that he wanted to design and wear a Jordan shoe on the court. In fact, the tennis legend had looked up to the six-time NBA champion since his early years. Jordan said that he was a fan of Federer too and thought it would be a special collaboration.

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 “I think the fans are going to love it. To see a Jordan shoe debut on the feet of one of the best tennis players of all time is something really amazing.” said Jordan.

Federer added that since Jordan and he both knew Hatfield, it helped with the collaboration a lot.

“I think it also helped that we both knew Tinker. Because Tinker designed the Vapor and Tinker designed…what…20 or 23 Jordans?” said Federer

To which, Jordan replied “He’s a pain in the a**. He is a pain in the a** for me, so I know he’s a pain in the a** for you. But he is a good pain in the a**.”

Nike released the NikeCourt Zoom Vapor RF x AJ3 ‘Atmos’ on August 27, 2014. Significantly, MJ now has 34 editions of the signature Michael Jordan brand sneakers. His Airness has earned over $1 billion from the Jordan brand to date. But the tennis star is not lacking behind as well. Federer has not played even a single match this year and yet has earned a whopping amount of $90 million. Federer had reportedly made the earnings from his off-court ventures.

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He has several deals with high-end brands but the two most significant ones are Uniqlo and On. His annual earnings from Uniqlo alone are estimated to be about $30 million. Additionally, Federer is also the brand ambassador of and a partner in the Swiss shoe company. No wonder, he was listed in Forbes yet again, as the highest-paid tennis player.