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In the summer of 1984, a 21-year-old North Carolina boy was selected third in the NBA draft.
Michael Jordan was singled out by the Chicago Bulls.
The spectacular player did not take long to change from college basketball to play in the best league in the world and already during the debut season it was observed: Michael Jordan is already one of the biggest attractions in the league.
He expects Converse to break his hair.
The shoe company was dominant in the sport and had Boston Celtics Larry Bird and Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson under contract. The same did the untested Michael Jordan.
ESPN’s documentary series “The Last Dance” tells the story of how Jordan’s team contacted Converse to try to reach a deal. The lack of interest from the shoe company was evident.
– They had great players and they told me they couldn’t imagine that I could match them, says Michael Jordan himself in the documentary.
Converse nobbade Michael Jordan
The question is whether it was not one of the biggest business mistakes in sports history.
Jordan’s agent David Falk turned to Nike.
The American company had started exactly 20 years earlier and was hardly the giant they are today, in 1984 they were just a start. The company was more focused on producing running shoes and Michael Jordan had no desire to start a collaboration with them. It wasn’t until 21-year-old mother Deloris Jordan gave her a reprimand that she even agreed to have a meeting with Nike.
His offer was worth around SEK 2.5 million and made competitors’ proposals appear like little potatoes. But it wasn’t just the money that attracted him.
Earth brand worth SEK 30 billion
Jordan’s agent Falk had an idea.
– When I negotiated with Nike, I told them: “You are a small company and if you want Michael Jordan, he should have his own collection of shoes.” Nike had just introduced a new technology for its running shoes called “Air Soles”. Obviously Michael was playing in the air, so I said, “Got it, we call them Air Jordan.”
Said and done. Pens were taken and contracts were signed.
In “The Last Dance” it is stated that Nike’s hope was, after four years, to have sold shoes for about SEK 30 million.
After a year, they were able to confirm that they had sold “Air Jordans” for SEK 1.2 billion. But in 1984, when the company made the offer to the young basketball player, Nike boss Howard White couldn’t believe his eyes.
– It was like … you want to offer what? A young rookie who hasn’t shown anything? You have to be crazy, he says in the documentary.
When 2019 was summed up, the prestigious finance site Forbes was able to find that Jordan’s brand, which is below Nike, is worth more than SEK 30 billion.
