In 1993, Michael Jordan abruptly retired from the NBA after leading the Chicago Bulls to three straight titles. After the move, he said it would take a contract of $300 million for him to return, if he played basketball simply for the money.
The figure was preposterous. The Bulls paid Jordan $4 million during the 1992-93 season. Flash forward three decades, and Jordan earned an estimated $300 million without setting foot on the court. It topped the $260 million Cristiano Ronaldo earned last year as the world’s highest-paid active athlete.
Jordan’s outsized income in retirement is a function of his Nike partnership signed after the Bulls drafted him in 1984. Air Jordan launched 40 years ago and crushed expectations with more than $100 million in sales in its first year, with Jordan entitled to royalties on every sale. Revenue last year: $7 billion.
His 2024 haul pushed his career earnings to $3 billion, or $4.15 billion when adjusted for inflation and highest all-time among athletes before accounting for taxes, expenses and investment gains.
Terms of Jordan’s Nike contract have never been revealed. Sportico estimates his cut at a conservative 4% of revenue. A representative for Jordan declined to comment on his finances.
Jordan returned to the Bulls in 1995 after a season-plus off the court and helped lead the franchise to a total of six titles. The club paid him $92 million over 14 years—he also made $2 million during his final two seasons in Washington—but it was almost always Nike that represented the biggest line item on his annual tax return.
After three years at UNC, Jordan was the third pick in the 1984 NBA Draft and was paid $555,000 by the Bulls during his rookie season. His Nike deal had a base of $500,000, but royalties pushed that annual figure well beyond his NBA pay. It would stay that way for the rest of his career outside of his final two seasons with the Bulls, when his salary got bumped from $3.85 million to $30.14 million and then $33.14 million.
Jordan’s total earnings during that last season with the Bulls (1997-98) were $80 million, as he had a wide swath of sponsorship deals beyond Nike. He pared his endorsement commitments post-retirement—he still works with Gatorade, Five Star, Upper Deck and 2K. The choice was made easier as Jordan Brand and MJ’s paycheck soared. In 2014, Nike broke out Jordan Brand revenue for the first time, and it was $1.9 billion. Brand sales are up 268% since then.
The Jordan Brand has grown beyond just a basketball shoe. The brand crossed over into multiple sports, became a fashion staple, expanded into women’s gear and hit international markets. New Nike CEO Elliott Hill was the executive who convinced Jordan about the potential of the international market. The current crop of Jordan signature athletes includes current NBA stars Luka Dončić and Jayson Tatum.
Jordan’s net worth has been boosted by numerous investments, most importantly in the Charlotte Hornets, which he sold in 2023 at a $3 billion valuation, more than 10x the price at which he bought majority control in 2010.
Those gains are not reflected in the $3 billion in cumulative earnings tied to Jordan’s celebrity and playing salary. Jordan partnered with more than two dozen brands during his career, but Nike stands alone in importance with an estimated payout of $2.35 billion since 1984, or nearly 80% of his career earnings.
