Magic Johnson, Who Lost $5.2 Billion Due to 1 Big Mistake, Was ?Envious? of Michael Jordan?s Success: ?He Wasn?t Marketed That Way?

NBA legend Michael Jordan made a fortune thanks to his dominance on the court. Jordan became the first ever NBA player to become a billionaire. However, Jordan didn’t make all his money from his NBA salary alone. A lot of endorsements, investments, and business decisions took him there. And the sports brand Nike played a huge part in it. When Michael Jordan joined the league in 1984, Nike was relatively new and struggling against Converse, who was on the top.

Interestingly, MJ’s first choice was Adidas. And Jordan didn’t even want to meet the officials from Nike to hear their offer. However, his mother persisted and asked him to at least listen to their offer. The world now would be without Air Jordans if it wasn’t for the Bulls legend’s mother. More than anyone else, MJ and Nike benefitted from the deal.

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When Michael Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls, NBA legend Magic Johnson was the face of the league. He was the man to beat, and the Los Angeles Lakers were the team to beat. And the relationship between Jordan and Johnson was strained. When once asked about it, MJ said that Magic was envious of his endorsements.

Michael Jordan says Magic Johnson was envious of him

In 1992, Jordan gave an honest interview to Playboy?magazine where he was asked about a variety of things. During the interview, he was asked whether his relationship with Magic was strained initially. He replied, “There was a little bit of envy because of the way I came into the league. Magic came in with even more flair and even more success. And he should have been even bigger than I was in terms of endorsements and business opportunities. But he wasn?t marketed that way. And I was fortunate to have good people. So there was some envy.”

Magic Johnson definitely didn’t make the most of his endorsements. He could have made billions if it wasn’t for one huge mistake. Unlike Jordan, Johnson didn’t sign with Nike when given the chance. To add salt to the wounds, Magic could have potentially made more than Jordan had he accepted the offer.

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However, Nike was not in a position to offer the money other brands could offer at the time. So they offered him stocks worth $100,000 at the time. But Magic didn’t accept the offer and signed for Converse instead. “I’d never heard of stock at 19 years old,” Magic said.

As per reports, the stocks offered to Magic Johnson at the time would be worth around an estimated $5.2 billion today.