What Michael Jordan earns from his Air Jordan brand surpasses even the wildest estimates

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan ended his nearly two-decade NBA career in 2003. But the legendary athlete has kept plenty busy in recent years, between ownership of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets team and, of course, his lucrative Nike partnership.

Nike created a signature shoe for Jordan, now known as the Air Jordan, in 1984. Eventually, Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the "Jordan Brand" — and in 2022, the Jordan Brand hit $5 billion in revenue for the first time.

So, how much does Michael Jordan make from Jordans today?

Initially, Jordan was offered a five-year deal worth $500,000 per year when he signed with Nike in the '80s. However, due to the massive success of Air Jordans, that figure has significantly increased.

"The Jordan Brand just crossed $5 billion in annual revenue for the first time," investor Joe Pompliano tweeted. "That means Michael Jordan made $150M+ from Nike last year alone — or nearly 2x his career NBA earnings."

In 2020, it was reported that Jordan had made over $1.3 billion from his Nike deal in his lifetime.

In a 2017 interview with Cigar Aficionado, Jordan said it was a “process” getting the Jordan Brand to the point where it was pulling in $3 billion a year.

“It’s dots being connected,” he explained. “When the shoes were at [their] peak, I played at a high level, and consumers saw that, and it basically authenticated everything about that shoe.”

Jordan also said that the brand was his “strongest passion,” aside from his ownership of the Hornets.

“Because to me, I can impact that in a much greater sense, continually talk to that consumer, interact with that consumer,” he said. “[The Jordan Brand] is my DNA. It is who I am. The Hornets are a product of the personnel that I assemble, and if it doesn’t have that DNA, you may not get the same results. … With the Jordan Brand, it is successful because I can impact it.”

According to WWD, the brand's most popular shoe is still the Air Jordan 1, which was originally released in 1985. Jordan has collaborated with several artists and designers since then when it comes to the Jordan 1 including Travis Scott, J Balvin, and Christian Dior.

Plus, the Jordan 1 has great resale value. Currently, the most expensive Air Jordan 1 on the resale market is the Nike Air Jordan 1 “Legends of Summer Black,” valued at $6,400.

HighSnobiety also ranked Nike Air Jordan 1 “Legends of Summer Red Glitter” and Nike Air Jordan 1 “Legends of Summer Red” as other high-value models.

In October 2021, a pair of Air Jordan 1s, worn by Jordan himself, sold for $1.472 million. Nike is definitely getting its money's worth from The Jordan Brand.

This article originally appeared two years ago.