Jordan Brand Earned Nike $19B Of Which Michael Jordan Only Gets 5%
Written by djfrosty on January 30, 2023
Source: Bennett Raglin/BET / Getty
Sneakerheads are pretty aware that the Retro Jordan line of Nike’s sneaker division has been it’s biggest cash cow for the company for decades now. But we didn’t know just how big those numbers actually were until now.
According to The Sports Rush, the Jordan Brand has earned over $19 billion dollars in revenue over the past five years for Nike with numbers calculating that the swoosh brand generates $3 million every five hours thanks to Jordan Brand related sales. While we know that sales of the Retro Jordan sneaker line is what helped Michael Jordan reach billionaire status, the G.O.A.T himself only gets a small percentage from every Jordan Brand item sold.
Michael Jordan receives 5%, a percentage that is abysmally low, on every single sale from a Jordan brand product. As of 2020, he had earned $1.3 billion from his contract with Nike, the most by any athlete in NBA history by a wide margin.
That doesn’t sound right. But if those are the conditions that Michael Jordan agreed to which helped him get to a billi, it is what it is.
And to think Michael didn’t even want to take a meeting with Nike back when it was basically a startup company. Meanwhile adidas and Converse were the hottest sneaker brands in the streets. Luckily he had some pretty persuasive parents who browbeat him into meeting with Nike. They ultimately came to an agreement on a partnership that made sneaker history.
Since then, the Air Jordan sneaker line has produced some of the most iconic silhouettes in the game and continues to be the most popular sneaker line to this day. You’d think at some point Mike would try to renegotiate his deal or something. But ultimately, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? The man is a billionaire and continues to rake in money hand over fist on a yearly basis. Imagine how much more money he and Nike would be making if they didn’t drop so many unnecessary and unwanted colorways of our beloved Jordan silhouettes? Not hatin’, just sayin’.
What do y’all think of his Airness only getting 5% of the pie he helped cook up in the kitchen? Let us know in the comments section below.