How Michael Jordan raked $975 million in 5 years thanks to his Nike affiliation

Even after his illustrious basketball career, Michael Jordan continues to win in life. For the past five years, the former Chicago Bulls cornerstone almost doubled his net worth after getting paid $975 million in Jordan brand royalties.

The six-time NBA champion signed with Nike way back in 1984 during his rookie year for $2.5 million for five years. The big kicker in that deal was the additional 5% which was brokered by his mother, Deloris Jordan, as shown in the movie "Air".

At first, Michael Jordan was hesitant to meet up with Nike as he preferred Adidas over the new brand. Thanks to his mother's advice, the 10-time NBA scoring champion is still reaping from Nike's sales.

The popularity of Michael Jordan as arguably the greatest basketball player of all time continues to grow up to this day being compared mainly to LeBron James. "The Last Dance" even furthered that brand recognition as basketball fans during the pandemic needed their basketball fix.

To this day, the Jordan brand has been carried by staple NBA stars like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson, Chris Paul, Bam Adebayo, Russell Westbrook and their latest addition was 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero.

Jordan's network is now at $2 billion and he is trailed by LeBron James with $1 billion while Magic Johnson is far behind at $600 million.

Michael Jordan and his other investments

With a lot of money to spend, Michael Jordan spent time as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets which he bought back in 2010. Now selling his stake, it is expected that his $275 million investment will balloon up as the NBA announced that the Hornet franchise is sold at $3 billion.

Jordan also invested in Dapper Labs which was the startup behind the virtual trading-card platform NBA Top Shot. In 2021, the 5-time NBA MVP took an equity stake in a sports betting company, DraftKings.

Other endorsements still carried by Jordan were Gatorade, Upper Deck and Hanes.

For now, the retired NBA legend still indulges in the game of golf and put up his own secret golf course in 2019 which is located in Hobe Sound, Florida. His investments also include stakes in restaurants and real estate.