This Sunday is the premiere of "The Last Dance", the documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 1997-98. That season led to the sixth and final title during the team's dominant career throughout the 1990s, one of the most important championships in league history. Jordan was the face of that Bulls team, which featured great characters like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr and coach Phil Jackson. But Michael made relatively little money playing in the NBA. Total earnings from his NBA career could be earned by a single player in three or four seasons today.
In 2009, when we started tracking Michael's fortune, he had a net worth of $ 500 million. Based on our count, he reached billionaire status for the first time in 2014 at the age of 51. Fast forward six years and you've already doubled that $ 1 billion net worth.
And if you've been reading CelebrityNetWorth recently, you may have seen that we were recently crowned the World's Richest Athlete. A feat that most people incorrectly assume was accomplished long ago.
So how did Jordan get so rich? Sure, we know it comes from the profits of companies like Nike and Gatorade. But what goes into that $ 2.2 billion number. Let's go to the essential numbers. Here's a dollar-for-dollar breakdown:
NBA salary = $ 93.7 million (approximately $ 145 million with inflation)
Perhaps the most surprising part of Jordan's multi-million dollar fortune is that he won almost everything on the basketball court.
During his NBA career, Jordan made a total of just $ 93.7 million, which is downright scarce by current standards. His rookie year brought him $ 550,000, and he played four seasons in the league before earning at least $ 1 million in a year.
During the Bulls' first three races (1991-93), Jordan earned a total of $ 9.75 million. He continued to earn even during his first retirement, earning more than he did during the first three mobs. When he returned, Jordan only made $ 3.85 million on the court, despite leading the Bulls to a 72-10 record.
After the fourth championship, Jordan finally received a big payday. More than two-thirds of his career earnings come from his past two seasons with the Bulls, when he earned $ 30.14 and $ 33.14 million during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, respectively.
How much does Michael Jordan make a year with the Nike / Jordan brand? $ 80 – $ 100 million.
Michael has revealed that while playing college ball for UNC, at one point he had only $ 20 in his bank account. He had to ask his mother to send him postage to keep in touch. Money would not be a problem for long.
In 1984, the same year he graduated from college, Jordan received a $ 500,000 worth sponsorship deal from Nike for five years. He also received stock options in the company, which raised his total compensation to $ 7 million during those five years.
Here's the craziest thing: Before that deal, Jordan had never worn a pair of Nikes in his life. It was a type of Adidas, but Nike's offer was too good to pass up.
When Jordan wore the shoes, they violated the NBA uniform rules. Nike paid all of the fines, and in fact used the controversy to generate additional excitement around the Air Jordan. By March 1985, consumers could buy the shoe, and they ever did; in two months, it had sold more than a million pairs. That first year, the Air Jordan sneakers generated $ 100 million of revenue for Nike. Today, the shoes generate more than $ 2.5 billion each year.
Jordan also has a pretty sweet deal with his shoes. Since 1992, he has earned at least 25 cents for every Air Jordan sold. Today, you earn $ 4 every time an Air Jordan shoe is sold. That is good enough to earn around $ 80 to $ 100 million each year. Some years, Air Jordan sales generate even more, giving Jordan up to $ 120 million.
Other endorsements and businesses = $ 500 million
However, Nike is not Jordan's only sponsorship deal. He has also partnered with Gatorade, McDonald & # 39; s Wheaties, Coca-Cola, Hanes, Chevrolet, Rayovac, MCI, Ball Park Franks, Upper Deck, 2K Sports, and Five Star Fragrances.
Jordan Gatorade's deal is probably the most lucrative after Nike. After the 1988-89 season ended, Jordan signed a ten-year, $ 18 million backup contract with Gatorade. That association brought the famous "Be Like Mike" ad to the airwaves and gave us a toe-tapping song to begin with.
In addition to its endorsements, Jordan also owns a car dealership and seven restaurants. All of these trading companies have brought him a whopping $ 1.6 billion.
In 2018 Michael and Magic Johnson invested in the popular esports organization Team Liquid. About a year after their investment, new investors poured money into the team with a valuation of $ 320 million. It is unclear how big Magic and Michael's bets are.
In 2017, when Derek Jeter led a group of investors in the purchase of the Miami Marlins baseball team for $ 1.2 billion. Derek invited Jordan to invest and today MJ owns about 1% of the team.
How much does Michael Jordan make in 2020? $ 120 – $ 150 million.
That, of course, doesn't include the deals Jordan has rejected. He reportedly won't accept a partnership unless he hopes to earn at least $ 10 million, and even then, money isn't always everything. Jordan said no to a $ 80 million headphone approval deal because he doesn't like to wear headphones.
Total backup earnings = $ 1.6 billion (and counting)
Jordan Brand via Getty Images
Bobcats investment = $ 1 billion +
Towards the end of his playing career (after two retirements, when he joined the Washington Wizards), Jordan divorced his wife Juanita in 2002. The divorce settlement cost Jordan $ 168 million. That is one of the largest celebrity divorce settlements in history.
By 2006, Jordan was worth approximately $ 450 million, after taxes, divorce settlements, living costs, and other expenses.
That same year, he purchased a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2010, he spent $ 175 million to buy a larger stake from the team's majority owner, BET founder Robert Johnson. That deal gave Jordan 80 percent ownership of the team.
But Jordan continued to increase his stake, increasing his ownership from 80 to 89.5 percent for 2014. Let's do some quick math here. At the time, the franchise, now renamed Hornets, was worth $ 500 million with a debt of $ 135 million. Soon after, the Clippers, also valued at $ 500 million, sold for $ 2 billion. Assuming the Hornets increased their valuation to $ 600 million during that period, Jordan's stake in the post-debt team was worth $ 416 million. Combined with his $ 600 million in foreign money, that made him a billionaire for the first time in his life.
Jordan sold a minority stake in the Bobcats last year to hedge fund managers Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim. The percentage was not disclosed but the assessment was. New investors bought in a team valuation of $ 1.5 billion.
As NBA franchise values continue to rise, so will Jordan's net worth.
Future value of the Jordan brand = $ 2 – 3 billion?
Using discounted cash flow or multiple EBITDA valuation, the present value of Michael's future Nike royalties alone could be worth billions of dollars in present value. Put another way: How much would an outside investor pay Michael today for the next 10-15 years of his Nike royalties? To get him out of business today, it would probably be worth over a billion dollars. Then it also has the terminal value of the Jordan brand after that 10-15 year period. It could be argued that Michael's Air Jordan royalty flow + the future value of the Jordan brand would be worth it for someone to buy him $ 2-3 billion today.
When you add it all up, according to our very conservative calculations, Michael Jordan's current net worth as of April 2020 is $ 2.2 billion. Easily enough to make him the richest athlete in the world. Is he also the best athlete of all time? Perhaps that will be answered in "The Last Dance".
"The Last Dance" airs its first two episodes on ESPN at 8pm ET; Viewers outside the United States can also stream it on Netflix.