The Wild Story of the $5.1 billion brand Jordan
The Jordan brand brings in OVER $5.1 BILLION in revenue every year for Nike.
This is the story of the brand Jordan.
In the 1984 NBA Draft, Michael Jordan was the #3 selection by the Chicago Bulls. He had recently received the accolade of National Player of the Year in his final season at University of North Carolina.
After being drafted, it was now time to ink a shoe contract. Jordan preferred Adidas, taken by their three stripes and clout in culture. However, Adidas wasn't fully focused on MJ.
His choices boiled down to two - Converse, the dominant brand at the time, or up-and-coming Nike.
Nike was determined to change their reputation by signing a star, but Jordan had no interest in meeting with them initially. It took urging from his agent David Falk and mother to convince him to hear Nike's pitch.
Nike dazzled Jordan with plans to build an entire line centered on him - his own signature shoe, Air Jordan. Their offer of $500,000 annually also far surpassed the richest shoe deals of the era. Further, Jordan’s mother added a crucial clause, insisting that Michael get a share of the profit from every pair sold. So he joined team Nike.
They got to work on the Air Jordan 1 in the Chicago Bulls’ colors of red and black. But before it launched, Nike received a letter that altered everything.
The NBA banned MJ from wearing his red-and-black Nike basketball shoes, since they violate the NBA’s dress-code, which at the time required footwear to be 51 per cent white.
This had the potential to kill the entire launch. But Nike brought the ban letter to their marketers, who crafted a $30,000 ad celebrating the ban. “On Oct.15, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On Oct. 18 the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can’t keep you from wearing them. Air Jordan’s. From Nike”
Legend has it that the NBA levied a $5,000 fine against Michael each time he stepped onto the court in them, and that Nike duly paid the fine each time.
The AirJordan 1 became the best-selling basketball sneaker in history. All thanks to some initial unfavorable publicity. Initial projections of $3 million in sales over three years were blown away when year One profits hit $126 million.
In 2022, the brand Jordan did $5.1 Billion in revenue. Michael Jordan still earns ±$150 Million a year through sales of Air Jordan shoes. The Nike Air Jordan brand continues to grow by 15-20% every year.
The key learning: Any publicity can be good publicity if used creatively and correctly. The Streisand effect is real, and very powerful.