Michael Jordan's $329,000,000 Nike earnings outpacing LeBron-KD-Steph trio leaves NBA fans mesmerized: "Still the measure of aura"

Michael Jordan remains a strong name in the NBA world, even more than two decades after his last game. His Airness' impact transcended basketball and the league, with Jordan becoming a cultural icon, especially after his signature shoes debuted.

It's been a hot minute since the Air Jordan Retro 1 hit the market and the six-time NBA champion has made plenty of money thanks to this deal, so much so that his earnings surpass the combined off-court numbers of three of the most famous NBA stars.

A graphic shows that Jordan earned $329 million from Nike in 2023, which is $18 million more than what LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant earned in the same year.

Those numbers surprised many, and fans didn't hesitate to hype up Michael Jordan on social media.

"Jordan is still the measure of "Aura" in the NBA." One fan said.

"All the Bronsexuals still wear Jordans. Thats why MJ still the GOAT," another fan said.

"That's why he is the greatest of all time," another fan wrote.

Others noted that even though Jordan has been out of action for 20 years, his earnings remain the same.

"GOAT type money for s**t he did decades ago," one fan wrote.

"GOAT MJ and been retired for over 2 decades lol," another fan chimed in.

"MJ is just better, hence why his sales are like more than a billion dollars." A fan said.

Colin Cowherd compares Michael Jordan's retirement effect to Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots

Before fans started discussing Michael Jordan's effect through his sneakers, veteran analyst Colin Cowherd on his Fox show "The Herd" likened how the Chicago Bulls were perceived after Jordan's retirement to Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots.

“They can't draft receivers, New England just can't," Cowherd said. "They're the opposite of the Steelers who can't miss on wide receivers, the Patriots can't draft one, and so Aiyuk is a good fit. Aiyuk basically said, ‘No, thank you.' He called it off.

“And to me, the Patriots are becoming the Chicago Bulls post Jordan. It's not just that the Bulls couldn't win. They went from totally cool to the most uncool franchise in the league. ... That's what the Patriots had become with Brady. Brady was so great. He made you forget how badly the Patriots drafted the offensive side of the ball.”

Michael Jordan and Tom Brady made their teams relevant, and after their respective departures, the Bulls and Patriots have struggled to become winners again.