"They got there through Jordan" - Jason Whitlock highlights Michael Jordan & Nike's impact on NBA's global appeal

As the NBA continues to grow in international popularity, Blaze Media's Jason Whitlock recently touched on the origins of its success. According to Whitlock, the NBA can attribute its popularity surge to Nike's successful global marketing of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan in the 1980s.

In 1984, Nike signed a then-rookie Jordan to a five-year, $2.5 million contract. In April of the following year, the company debuted the Air Jordan sneaker line, which quickly outperformed expectations, netting $126 million in sales in Year 1.

They later introduced Jordan Brand in 1997, helping further what many consider the most successful sports partnership ever. In 2022 alone, Jordan Brand reportedly garnered Nike $5 billion, with Jordan earning up to $256 million. As of this year, the six-time NBA champion's net worth is a whopping $3.2 billion, per Forbes.

On Monday's episode of "Fearless with Jason Whitlock," Whitlock broke down Nike and Jordan's iconic partnership. He first noted that Jordan helped Nike become the world's premier powerhouse sports company. According to Macro Trends, it boasts a massive $146.66 billion net worth as of this year.

"There is an argument that people don't understand that Nike actually is the most powerful force in all of sports and in basketball, and they got there through Michael Jordan," Whitlock said.

Whitlock then highlighted how the company convinced the NBA to embrace Jordan and promote him internationally, especially in China.

"Nike is what drove the NBA to climb into full bed with Michael Jordan," Whitlock said.

"And what Nike has always wanted—they had this whole international global dominance—'And we're gonna sell shoes in China. And we're gonna build this economic engine, Nike, that's gonna generate $40 billion to $50 billion a year because we're gonna sell shoes all over the globe, and we're gonna do it with Michael Jordan."

According to Whitlock, former Nike CEO and co-founder Phil Knight was the one who shifted then-NBA commissioner David Stern's attention to seeking international deals.

"Phil Knight convinced David Stern, 'If you want your league to ever surpass the NFL, you're not gonna do it domestically, you gotta do it internationally,'" Whitlock said.

"'And here's the horse we're going to ride. His name is Michael Jordan. We're gonna ride that horse to this international acclaim, and one day, we're gonna get this contract from China for the NBA that's gonna surpass any TV deal that you can get domestically.'"

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The NBA has experienced massive growth since Michael Jordan partnered with Nike in the 1980s

The NBA has experienced substantial growth since the 1980s when Michael Jordan partnered with Nike.

In the 1980s, NBA franchises were purchased for between $9.8 million and $120 million, per Medium. As of 2023, Forbes listed every team's valuation as at least $2.4 billion, with the Golden State Warriors leading at $7.7 billion.

Furthermore, according to USA Today, players made an average salary of $180,000 in 1980. That figure reportedly jumped to $900,000 by the decade's end and around $8 million as of 2022.

As Jason Whitlock alluded to, a lot of the NBA's revenue comes from China. Per the San Francisco Chronicle, the league netted roughly $5 billion annually from China as of 2022.

The extent of Nike's impact on the NBA's success may be debatable. However, there's no denying that the league's global appeal has continuously grown over the past few decades.

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