Some things have stayed the same since the ‘80s. Russia and U.S. relations remain tense (to say the least), big sweaters and high-waisted jeans are in, and Michael Jordan keeps breaking records. A revolutionary athlete-turned-businessman who inspired many accolades as the “greatest of all time” or “GOAT,” Jordan’s business dealings laid the groundwork for athletes to become business moguls. Now, he’s on the brink of his biggest deal yet—which paradoxically involves him leaving the NBA. On Friday, the six-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medalist and longtime face of Nike, McDonald’s, Gatorade and countless other brands, sold his majority stake in the Hornets to current minority owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall for an estimated $3 billion valuation. Other aspiring mogul athletes still want to “be like Mike.”
Jordan has built his name into a branded business since his days on the court. His best known deal was born out of his partnership with Nike: the timeless Air Jordan sneaker. It wasn’t just a hit in Foot Lockers nationwide, it broke the norm as Jordan was more than a sponsor but a stakeholder in the brand. As documented in the recent Ben Affleck movie, Air, which featured extensive behind-the-scenes involvement from his Airness himself, the business savvy of Jordan’s mother, Deloris, was the pivotal factor convincing Jordan to listen to Nike’s pitch and negotiating for 25% of royalties for every shoe. (Jordan himself wanted to sign with Adidas, then the dominant shoe brand—and all those years later, Jordan himself insisted that Affleck and co-producer Matt Damon cast Oscar winner Viola Davis as his beloved mother.)
Partnering with a lesser-known brand at the time led to a $2.5 million, five-year contract—nothing to sneeze at, especially in 1984. What could have been just a shoe deal became a new precedent, as Jordan’s stake in the company paved the way for sports players seeing more from their sponsorships. In a sign of his influence, the arrival of another GOAT, soccer great Lionel Messi, to America, comes under a similar arrangement, as Major League Soccer is working with corporate partners Apple and, yes, Adidas (with whom Messi already has a lifetime contract) on some kind of equity stake for the Argentinian legend, to go along with his reported $60 million contract.
Jordan continued to own the ‘90s, with sponsorships with McDonald’s, Gatorade, and Hanes, among others. He was catapulted into international fame in 1992, while leading the “Dream Team” of NBA superstars to a gold medal in the first Olympic Games following the fall of the Berlin Wall and demise of the USSR. The win was also a symbolic one, a triumph of the U.S. as the Cold War ended, and Jordan became a figure that represented said victory. His name and likeliness gained global recognition as he became the face of McDonald's once it entered the post USSR Russia. (He also inspired legions of international kids to pick up basketballs and transformed the sport into a global one, as evidenced by recent NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, from Serbia.)
All these deals helped Jordan’s net worth soar to $2 billion. He earned $90 million until he retired, but since leaving the court has raked in $1.8 billion pre-tax from his historic partnerships, per Forbes. The number is now likely higher, post his pending NBA franchise sale. Jordan’s actual stake during his 13 years helming the Hornets is unclear, as is how much he’s actually keeping in order to still be a minority shareholder. But considering he owned at least 50% of the company, Jordan has at least $1.5 billion on the line from this deal.
Keeping with the GOAT’s proclivity for breaking records, the deal is the seventh-most expensive sports team sale ever, per Axios. Six out of the seven record-breaking NBA team sales have occurred in the last 13 months, underscoring the current weight of a sports investment these days. Minting deals with streaming and cable, the NBA has soared high enough that the average team was worth $2.86 billion in 2022, 15% higher than just one year prior, per Forbes. NBA franchise values have exploded since Donald Sterling bought the LA Clippers for $13.5 million in 1981, a figure that’s worth more than $44 billion today. In 2019, Joseph Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets for $2.35 billion in 2019 and Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion in 2022.
Jordan bought in before the latter two in 2010, acquiring BET founder Bob Johnson’s Charlotte Bobcats—which later became the Hornets—for just $275 million. Now, the GOAT athlete-business mogul is pulling off quite the coup with this sale. Meanwhile, GOAT counterpart Lebron James, who is worth just a reported $1 billion, hopes to acquire a team one day.
Jordan has been there, done that.
