Michael Jordan is unarguably the most popular NBA player of all time. Many consider MJ the god of basketball. And he is one of the most popular and recognizable athletes the world over. So it makes sense for his Jordan Brand with Nike to be one of the most sought-after sneakers in the world.
Thanks to a licensing deal with Nike that gave birth to the Jordan Brand, the Chicago Bulls legend continues to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year. In 2022 alone, Jordan got an estimated $256.1 million payout for the sales of his shoes, according to Front Office Sports.
The outlet also reported the Jordan Brand made $5.1 billion for the fiscal year 2022. As part of his deal with Nike, MJ is entitled to get 5 percent of the earnings from his shoe sales.
Sure enough, Nike is happy to pay Jordan that a large amount of money, considering the profits they gain from the deal. The outlet also reported that the Jordan Brand has earned the apparel giant about $19.4 billion over the last five fiscal years–which would amount to $1 billion in earnings for MJ under his deal.
What’s interesting to note, however, is that Michael Jordan actually just earned $90 million in NBA salary throughout his career. The now-Charlotte Hornets owner has basically doubled his career earnings in one year with just one business.
Jordan has certainly used his popularity to increase his wealth further, further proving that he is also a great businessman off the court. Currently, Jordan’s net worth is estimated to be $1.7 billion. His net worth in 2021 was valued at $1.6 billion.
In other MJ news, ESPN and ACC Network announced they will celebrate “Jordan Day” today (Feb.3 – a.k.a. 2/3/23 ). Both channels will feature around-the-clock content honoring the Bulls legend, including special editions of popular shows like First Take, NBA Today, and SportsCenter.