While Michael Jordan’s dominance on the court is apparent through his accolades, the NBA legend has continued to build on his excellence in business.
Jordan is now among the 400 wealthiest people in America as his net worth has soared to $3 billion, per Forbes. What’s more, he’s the first professional athlete to accomplish the feat.
During his NBA career, the outlet reports he earned $94 million and became the highest-paid player in the league in 1997 and 1998.
Jordan’s stature in the world of business permanently shifted after signing to Nike in 1984. The deal has been so successful, Nike established the Jordan Brand in 1997.
As AFROTECH previously mentioned, the Jordan Brand reportedly earns an annual revenue of more than $5 billion and has raked in $19.4 billion in revenue over the last five fiscal years, Front Office Sports reports.
As for Jordan’s personal pockets, he earned $260 million in estimated (pretax) income from his royalty checks from Nike. Per Forbes, this triples what he earned during his time in the league.
Jordan has also secured a rarity in sports as a former athlete. He became a minority shareholder in NBA team Charlotte Hornets in 2006 and later purchased majority ownership four years later from BET Founder Robert L. Johnson.
In August 2023, Jordan sold his majority stake in the team for $3 billion, which amounts to around 17 times the team’s valuation in 2010, according to Forbes. Additionally, it marked the second-highest sale in the league.
Over the years, Jordan has ventures such as restaurants, a tequila brand, and equity investments in companies like CLEAR, DraftKings, and Sportradar. He is also the proud owner of NASCAR team 23XI Racing, as AFROTECH previously told you.
Today, Jordan is steadily increasing his net worth. He became the first billionaire athlete in 2014. Since then, only LeBron James and Tiger Woods have followed suit.
“Michael’s one of the few people that have had success three times,” explained Ted Leonsis, the Washington Wizards, Mystics, and Capitals owner, who has worked with Jordan on various investments and in sports ownership, Forbes reports. “A lot of entrepreneurs, they make it once. They have a big win, take their winnings, retire and [we] never hear from them again, or they try something a second time and it doesn’t work. He’s had three mega successes.”
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