WHILE he may be arguably the greatest National Basketball Association player of all time, the eminent Michael Jordan earned only a pittance – salary-wise – during his 15 NBA seasons with the Chicago Bulls (1984-98, six titles) and Washington Wizards (2001-03).
(For the record, though, I have gone against the grain countless times in naming legendary Boston Celtics center Bill Russell as my greatest ever with 11 titles in 12 trips to the NBA Finals during his incandescent 13-year tenure from 1956-69 and yes, championships won does count a lot.
Was there any discussion about MJ being among the greatest players ever before he won the first of six rings in his seventh pro season, or did any one consider him as the greatest ever before he registered second title “three-peat?”)
In NBA career earnings, Jordan bankrolled only a total of $90 million, ranking him at 87th place on the all-time career list.
The amount includes the $30.1 million and league record-setting $33.1 million he collected with the Bulls in 1996-97 and 1997-98, respectively.
Before that, His Airness was never paid an NBA salary greater than $4 million.Then again, it’s important to note that the value of the American dollar in the eighties was way, way higher than its currency equivalent nowadays.
Surely, Jordan did not make a living from his NBA salary. Jordan’s NBA career earnings were dwarfed by his enormous endorsement contracts through the past three decades.
Most of his ad-pitch deals are currently still in effect. And to this day, Jordan remains among the world’s highest-paid athletes (salary and endorsements) even though he has been in playing retirement since 2003.
It’s reported that Jordan earned an estimated $80 million in 2012 from corporate partners Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports, Presbyterian Healthcare and Five Star Fragrances.
His other assets include six restaurants, a North Carolina car dealership, and a motorsports team. The Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, is responsible for the vast majority of MJ’s non-NBA earnings. Jordan signed up with Nike in 1984 after the University of North Carolina product was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the third overall pick in that year’s NBA draft. The original five-year pact was worth $500,000 annually plus royalties.
The terms of Jordan’s current deal with Nike have not been disclosed although royalties now generate more than $60 million annually for His Airness.
Of course, Jordan’s biggest asset is his 80-percent stake in the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, who will be known as the Hornets effective during the 2014-15 campaign.
(The moniker became available when the original Hornets, who had relocated to New Orleans in 2002, changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans starting this season).
The Bobcats, though, have been losing as much as $20 million annually. In March 2010, Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, purchased a majority stake in the Bobcats franchise from Robert L. Johnson (the first African-American to own an NBA team).
The change at the top made Jordan the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise.
Luckily, the losses are being offset by the money that the Bobcats will be collecting under a clause in the current collective bargaining agreement that triples the amount of revenue sharing from high-revenue to low-revenue franchises.
Under the scheme, the Bobcats are expected to receive as much as $18 million annually starting this season. Last January 22, Forbes Magazine came up with a list of the most valuable franchises in the NBA.
Valued at $410 million, Charlotte ranked 29th out of 30 teams. Only the Milwaukee Bucks have a lower value at $405 million.
Through last year, Jordan’s net worth was estimated at $650 million, most of which have come from endorsement deals.