You know, Jordan's rookie salary was only $550,000, so the sponsorship contract for 500,000 sneakers was already sky-high at that time. But in order to protect the company's rights and interests, Nike also put forward three requirements at that time. Nike requires that it must complete 1 of the following three goals in the first three years of its career. Be elected as the best rookie, be selected into the All-Star team, or average 20 points per game. Nike said that if Jordan can't do it, they can cancel the contract in advance. If you sign and sell signature shoes worth more than 4 million in the first three years, the contract can also be continued.
To Nike's surprise, Jordan played a perfect performance in the rookie season, averaging 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.4 steals, forcing Olajuwon and Buckley to be elected as the best rookie and become the all-star starter. Jordan exceeded all three requirements put forward by Nike in his rookie season. You know, 84 was the strongest draft year in history, and Wang's performance was incomprehensible.
What is more exaggerated is that Jordan not only has beautiful data, but also has an extremely gorgeous style. He has a handsome appearance and has become the most popular star. In the first year, Jordan's signature shoes sold for1.800 million dollars! AJ generated $200 million in revenue in the first year of its launch, exceeding all other incomes of Nike at that time combined. These are the influences of rookie Jordan.
But at this time, Nike panicked, and they regretted it, because there was a reward clause in the contract at that time, that is, Jordan exceeded the standard and could voluntarily withdraw after the third year. At that time, many brands wanted to dig Jordan, and finally they kept Jordan after lobbying by brokers and Nike executives.
Since then, Wang has become the signboard of NBA and the face of Nike. It is because of Jordan's extraordinary influence that NBA goes global and Nike becomes a first-class brand. Jordan has become a recognized god of basketball, with unparalleled commercial value. So now even if Jordan is lying at home, he can get hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends from AJ every year, but looking at the profits Jordan has created for Nike, he can only say that Wang deserves this money.