Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan turned down $ 152 million for a two-hour appearance

NBA superstar Michael Jordan made countless amazing plays at stadiums across the United States as a player, but some of his off-court decisions after his career have been just as impressive.

According to his agent, Jordan once rejected the incredible amount of $ 152 million for a two-hour appearance, where he only had to appear at one event.

Jordan has dominated the headlines in recent weeks when his documentary “The Last Dance” was released on Netflix. It’s a rare opportunity to see and hear Jordan, who has been kept out of focus during retirement.

Jordan’s agent David Falk opened up on a few occasions when Jordan felt there was no need to accept a forced paycheck for a short day of work.

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“(Jordan) rejected an agreement to make a one-day golf appearance when he was in Asia a few years ago for a preseason game with Charlotte,” Falk told WFAN.

“And a woman in the Philippines offered me $ 7 million for a day, she wanted me to play in a golf tournament. And she turned it down.”

“I brought you a deal three years ago for $ 100 million.

“And all he had to do, other than give his name and likeness, was make a two-hour appearance to announce the deal. And he turned it down.”

Falk, who was also the former agent for Boomer Esiason, said he never wanted to make unique appearances for Jordan, just long-term marketing deals. Jordan, who is now the Hornets’ primary owner, got his biggest deals with Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Gatorade.

The money rejected, on another occasion, Jordan spent $ 7 million to play in a one-day golf tournament in Asia, Falk said, was part of a bigger point Falk was trying to make about Jordan’s well-known gambling habits. .

Many have wondered if Jordan’s 18-month retirement in 1993 was actually a secret suspension for the game, but Falk said the ESPN documentary goes in and supports Jordan’s denial.

“[Former NBA commissioner David] Stern comes up and basically says it’s nonsense that he suspended Michael for 18 months when he retired, “Falk said.” At the end of the day, Michael was almost at Teflon. There are very few things that people criticize him for. The game was that. He loves to play. He is an extremely competitive guy. If you lose $ 150,000 playing golf, great business. If I said to him tomorrow, ‘Hey, I have an appearance for you for five minutes for $ 150,000,’ he would laugh at me. If it was $ 1,500,000, it wouldn’t.

“So yeah, he lost money on the game and had some kind of black eye for five minutes. He apologized and the thing disappeared. But any of these Oliver Stone conspiracy theories that somehow got him out of basketball were ridiculous.”

Jordan’s sponsorship deal with Nike’s Air Jordan range earns the American about $ 200 million a year, according to Forbes.

After signing up with people like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Chevrolet during his game days, Jordan cut back on his commitments after his third retirement, but remains linked to a handful of brands, including Gatorade.

That kept the Chicago Bulls legend’s non-Nike earnings at $ 23 million in 2019 and his net worth is estimated to be $ 3.15 billion, largely due to his majority stake in NBA team Charlotte Hornets. .