Now earning $150 million a year from his Nike sneakers, Michael Jordan couldn’t stand the disrespect of their rivals who eventually went bankrupt in 2001

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan went on to create his own brand with Nike. But before making a deal with Nike, he was more interested in signing a deal with Adidas. But throughout history that hasn’t happened and now we can wear Nike Air Jordans.

Even before Michael Jordan stepped onto an NBA court, brands were already courting him to sign with them. Jordan had spent his entire time at the University of North Carolina wearing Converse.

Nike made history by signing Michael Jordan

But it was also because head coach Dean Smith was getting $10,000 every year to put that mark on his players. And even though Michael wanted to wear Adidas sneakers, he couldn’t.

Then came the time when Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. And that’s when MJ had to decide which brand he wanted to sign with. Jordan wanted to go with Adidas but due to the leadership changes the organization was going through, they never made him an offer.

The only remaining choices were Nike and Converse. During this time, all the big stars have been signed with Converse. Converse had Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Erving to name a few. Jordan flew to Converse headquarters to hear their speech.

And that’s where His Airness felt disrespected. Jordan claimed that Converse was not innovative and what tipped him was when they said, “We will treat you like all of our other superstars.” And that just didn’t sit well with Jordan.

Jordan flew back and told his agent to put him in touch with Adidas. But since the meeting with Adidas didn’t happen, MJ’s mom convinced him to at least hear what Nike’s pitch was and what they had to offer.

How Nike ended up signing MJ

Nike immediately offered him a five-year, $500,000 deal, which amounted to $2.5 million. This made Michael Jordan the highest paid player through his sponsorship deal. And he jumped to make history with Nike.

Jordan collects a 5% royalty on all Jordan brand sales. Nike ended up bringing in $4.7 billion in revenue last year. And Jordan has earned over $150 million from the sportswear brand.

Watch This Story – Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan’s First-Ever Nike Contract Makes Shocking Million-Dollar Revelation in Golfer’s Favor

The funny thing is, the company that ended up not giving its name enough respect declared bankruptcy in 2001. And then Nike acquired Converse for $315 million, which is the equivalent of two paychecks. Nike for Jordan.