Michael Jordan Still Rolling in Big Bucks

   Michael Jordan is scoring 100 times more money yearly in endorsements, than he did points in his entire 14 year career in the NBA.

       Jordan, who his one of the world’s most notorious athletes, has endorsement deals from 20 companies that are rumored to total between 35-45 million dollars yearly.

        The Nike Company, which is the largest sports brand in the world, having a net worth of about 10.7 billion dollars, pays Jordan 16 million dollars a year to put his name on their products.

 Alongside Nike, Jordan is also signed with nine other multimillion-dollar corporations, and advertises for ten Chicago based companies as well.

      Coca Cola, Hanes, Wheaties, Gatorade, McDonalds, and MCI are among the other large names that sponsor Michael Jordan.

At 48 years old, and far from playing conditions, Jordan earned 55 million dollars between June of 2009 and 2010. Though Jordan keeps his endorsement worth under wraps, he has been making at least 20 million dollars yearly since 1991.

      Alongside Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Michael Jordan is highly marketable worldwide because he is recognized in many of the richest countries in the world, the two most important being the United States and China. The United States which brings in 14.3 trillion dollars a year G.D.P, and China who brings in 4.4 trillion dollars.

      Basketball is just as large of an industry to the Chinese as it is to Americans, the only difference is that instead of following Chinese basketball, people in China are fans of the NBA. This makes big names just as Jordan, Bryant, and James highly marketable not only on a national basis, but on a worldwide basis. Nike has reported that the Air Jordan brand brings them in at least one billion dollars in revenue each year worldwide.

      Forbes Magazine had some interesting insight into why athletes who are sponsored by Nike are among the highest paid in the world: “The company (Nike) also has the distinction of being the only sports apparel maker whose worldwide market share has increased since the start of 2008.”

     Even though our country is entering an economic downturn, Jordan’s endorsement deals will continue rising in my opinion. This is mainly through the success of companies such as Nike and McDonalds, where people can acquire goods that are very cheap, but socially popular.