Nike is the biggest athletics brand right now on the global market, and there is no denying that it is thanks in large part to the great Michael Jordan. Nike was just an up-and-coming brand when they signed Jordan in the 1980s, and he almost single-handedly carried the brand to the top of the sneaker chain.
During Sunday's episodes of “The Last Dance,” however, it was revealed how the marriage between Nike and Jordan almost never came to be. According to the Chicago Bulls legend himself, Nike wasn't actually his first choice in terms of his potential shoe sponsor.
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Michael Jordan straight up said that he actually preferred to sign with Adidas over Nike, which is not surprising considering how the former had already established themselves as one of the hottest brands in the market at that time. Nike was a little-known brand, and Jordan was leaning more towards the brand he actually wore as a youngster.
Just imagine how Stephen Curry brought the Under Armour brand to glory. That was pretty much what Jordan did to Nike — and 100 times better — nearly half a century ago.
Darren Rovell of Action Network once did an extensive piece about this fateful turn of events, and he decided to share some of the most interesting bits from his 2013 article in line with the revelations in “The Last Dance.”
Converse offered MJ $100,000 a year.
Nike offered MJ $500,000 a year.
Adidas, MJ’s favored brand, never even presented him with an offer.
My account of the why… pic.twitter.com/2DYXnw7UCy
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 4, 2020
To be fair to Nike, they went all out on Jordan at that time. However, not even them could have predicted how much success that deal would bring about.
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