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Michael Jordan's success with sneakers may be greatest achievement
Michael Jordan's success on the basketball court comes second to no one. Six trips to the NBA finals and six victories, universally recognized as the best NBA player to ever grace a floor. However, the Jordan Brand had most of its financial success in sneakers. SI's legal analyst Michael McCann tells Robin Lundberg why the Jordan Brand has been untouchable for so long and why other brands can't seem to recreate its magic.
Read the Full Video Transcript:
Robin Lundberg: Michael Jordan might not only have been the Michael Jordan of basketball, but the Michael Jordan of the sneaker game as well. For more, I'm joined by our legal analyst, Michael McCann. Now, Michael, could it be argued that m.j.'s influence was even greater with kicks than it was on the court?
When Michael Jordan reluctantly accepted Nike’s shoe deal back in ‘84, he got paid $250K and Nike hoped to sell $3M worth of sneakers by year 4. They sold $126M in year 1! The line generates $3B+ now and makes MJ ~$200M/yr and he’s not touched a ball in 17 years! #TheLastDance
— Rahul Ganjoo (@elegantlywasted) May 10, 2020
Michael McCann: Money wise, there's no question about it, Robin. He earned on the court. Ninety-three million dollars, obviously a ton of money off the court. He reportedly earned about 1.7 billion with a B. What a difference that is. And of course, there's the Jordan effect. The idea that everything involved with Jordan amplifies and value, that's could be TV ratings for NBA games. That could be audiences for films and other products that he is. He's played such an instrumental role. Other sneaker companies have tried to recapture that. But, you know, even in sports, we love analytics. We love formulas. There's no formula that will lead to another Michael Jordan.
Robin Lundberg: Yeah. I mean, that's the thing, right? You have to have the product to sell in order for it to sell. Not not to say Michael Jordan is a product. But of course, he was a brand.
With each new episode of #TheLastDance, resell prices of Air Jordans continue to climb.
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) May 10, 2020
How watching Michael Jordan be great on TV still moves the needle for sneaker business in 2020: https://t.co/kKNcehNzLd pic.twitter.com/6IgcyuWNLQ
Michael McCann: Yeah. That's right. And there was a confluence of things going on when Jordan and Nike got together, there was Nike's desire to really build around him. That's something that Sonny Vaccaro, who signed Michael Jordan to his contract with Nike, talks about that. You can't have that with another player because it was so unique to Nike. And it was a gamble that obviously paid off so much for Nike and for Jordan.
Robin Lundberg: Michael, appreciate your time and analysis, as always.
Michael McCann: Thanks Robin.
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