Michael Jordan Makes Nearly Three Times More Annually With 5% Nike Royalty Than He Earned In His Entire NBA Career

Michael Jordan is arguably the biggest contributing factor to the exponential global growth of the NBA over the last three decades. His superstardom and run with the Chicago Bulls made the league more popular and valuable than it ever was before. 

Considering that contracts worth more than $250 million have become common for stars in the NBA today, it's wild to think that MJ's career earnings in the league are just shy of $94 million. But he's still the richest NBA player ever, his net worth is over $2 billion. And that is thanks to Nike above all else. 

The Jordan Brand has been a big earner for Nike, and as per the latest figures, made $5.1 billion in annual sales. And Michael Jordan makes 5% of that in royalty, which means he pulled in $255 million off of that alone last year. This is nearly three times how much he made in his entire NBA career. 

During Michael Jordan's career with the Chicago Bulls, he wasn't making as much as people might imagine. In fact, until the 1995-96 season, the most Jordan had made in one year was $4 million. It's the 1996-97 season and 1997-98 season where his earnings exploded, 

In 1996-97, the Chicago Bulls gave Jordan a $30 million salary, which would be worth $56 million in today's NBA. And in 1997-98, it went up to $33 million. So just these two years accounted for $63 million out of his $93.7 million career earnings. 

To put that into some perspective, since 2018, the Jordan brand has made $2.8 billion in 2018, $3.1 billion in 2019, $3.7 billion in 2020, $4.8 billion in 2021, and $5.1 billion in 2022 in annual sales. This means that in just those 5 years, Jordan has raked in $975 million in royalties, an insane figure. 

Michael Jordan's net worth is over $2 billion, but at this rate, it is only going to keep going up. LeBron James has also become a billionaire, but considering how much MJ makes annually, it's hard to see him catching up to the GOAT at any point. 

---

Michael Jordan Will Make Over $2 Billion By Selling The Charlotte Hornets

Michael Jordan has owned the Charlotte Hornets for many years as the majority owner, but he has since gotten into the process of selling his stake in the team. He originally bought the majority for $275 million, and the team is now being sold for $3 billion. 

Despite how incredible his numbers with Nike are, the deal will see MJ make $2 billion, which is more than he has earned in 40 years with the company. On the court, Michael Jordan achieved enough to make him the GOAT, according to most. Off the court though, he has arguably achieved even more, he is one of the wealthiest men in the world. 

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.