How Michael Jordan Earned His Billions: A Trip Down His Endorsement Lines

Michael Jordan once again has everyone’s attention around him. The NBA legend’s documentary released this Sunday, which got everyone buzzing. 

Titled ‘The Last Dance’, this miniseries runs ten episodes which chronicles Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1998. Furthermore, this was the year Jordan won completed his second three-peat in his illustrious career.

Michael Jordan as we all know is a global superstar. He is still revered around the world as the greatest player of all time. When you dig into the business part of his career in the NBA, it’s obvious that the figures would be huge.

When you round the numbers, his career earnings in the NBA come up to roughly $94 million. That is a huge sum indeed. But, Jordan’s lavish earnings came outside the NBA. 

Owing to his global recognition, Jordan made himself a billionaire in 2014, thanks to his endorsement deals. The Jumpman also created his own brand named ‘Air Jordan,’ which is a subsidiary of Nike.

The five-time NBA MVP is worth somewhere around $2.1 billion at the moment.

Michael Jordan and a list of his endorsement deals

In addition to Jordan’s new documentary release, a Twitter user named Brianne Fleming compiled a list of his most famous advertising campaigns to date. 

Wheaties, a breakfast cereal brand partnered with Michael Jordan to display his picture on their packaged box. The deal began in 1991 and Jordan is the athlete with the most depictions on Wheaties boxes with 18. 

Coca-Cola the ever-popular beverage around the world, got Jordan as their face which earned them millions of sales worldwide.

Gatorade then signed Jordan on a long term deal and went famous after poaching him from Coca-Cola. He was the only face of the brand at that period. Gatorade invented a phrase that read “Be Like Mike.” Their sales rocketed after the six-time champion signed a deal with them, earning seven figures per year.

Michael Jordan partnered with Hanes, a clothing company based in the USA. Hanes has been one of MJ’s long time endorsement partners. They even celebrated 30 years of the company’s association with Jordan in 2019.

MJ also endorsed for food giant McDonalds. He even launched his own line of cologne for men. And yes, he was the face of it. He named it ‘Michael Jordan Cologne.’

The Hall of Famer wanted a game to be made on him and succeeded in doing so. In 1994, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System released a game called “Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City.”

On top of all the above-mentioned endorsements, one cannot forget the mega-deal between Nike and Jordan. For Nike, it was a perfect match. The former Bulls man makes around $100 million every year from his partnership with Nike.

Though he’s been retired for more than a decade, he still earns a lot more than what the current athletes earn from their endorsements and salaries.