The ‘Air Jordan’ Empire: 60 Years of Revolution

Michael Jordan turns 60 this Friday. Unrepeatable phenomenon on the floor with the Chicago Bulls, he built an empire worth $ 2,100 million. His ‘Air Jordan’ shoes are worn on five continents. The clothes he wore throughout his career are being auctioned for over a million dollars. Charlotte Hornets and Miami Marlins shine in their investment portfolio. This is the empire of ‘MJ23’.

Michael Jordan celebrates his 60th birthday, considered the greatest in NBA history, having been a six-time champion with the Bulls in the 90s, and established as a businessman capable of anything that carries his name convert to gold. His number 23 jerseys sell for $325 in stores. The series ‘The Last Dance’ was a worldwide phenomenon on Netflix and the story of the millionaire sponsorship with Nike comes to the cinema this year with ‘Air’, the new Ben Affleck movie.

His talent and charisma forever changed the history of the Bulls, a $4.1 billion franchise. Chicago doesn’t forget its heroics. From the statue at the United Center to its hidden gems around town, EFE visits the locations that marked the legendary ’90s of ‘MJ’ and the Bulls.

NEARLY 1.5 MILLION FOR ITS SNEAKERS

The link between Nike and Jordan dates back to 1984, in ‘MJ’s’ rookie year in the NBA. The Oregon company offered him a $500,000 a year sponsorship contract, an astronomical sum in those years, and capitalized on the player’s talent and charisma, on and off the court, to launch a shoe line that would become an absolute icon.

The “Nike Air Ships” worn by Jordan in 1984 will be auctioned in 2021 for nearly $1.5 million. The following year, the first sneakers bearing his name, the ‘Air Jordan 1’, were released. Success was immediate and the Oregon company is currently producing the 37th edition of a piece that was worth a fortune to the brand and to ‘MJ’.

Already widely regarded as a style icon, more than $500,000 is now being paid to get your hands on an ‘Air Jordan 1S’ worn by the Bulls legend.

The brand and unmistakable logo transcend the boundaries of basketball and have even opened up new business horizons in the world of football. Paris Saint Germain, champions of Ligue 1 in French football, skyrocketed sales in the United States by dressing Kylian Mbappé in his ‘PSG x Jordan’ kit since 2018.

THE HORNETS, THE MARLINS, NETFLIX AND THE CINEMA

Among Jordan’s many investments are the Charlotte Hornets, of which he has owned 70% of the quota since 2010 for a value estimated by ‘Forbes’ at about $940 million.

In addition, in 2017, he joined a group of investors who bought the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball (MLB) team for an estimated $1.2 billion.

The streaming platform Netflix launched ‘The Last Dance’ in 2020, a series that had a record impact during the coronavirus pandemic, on the six titles won by the Bulls between 1991 and 1998.

Jordan received a payment of nearly $4 million for his contribution to the series, which he donated entirely to fund charitable initiatives.

His link to Nike and his shoe line will also hit the big screen in the coming months with Ben Affleck’s movie “Air,” whose “trailer” was released last Sunday during the NFL Super Bowl, won by the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. .

JORDAN’S LEGACY UNFORGETTABLE IN CHICAGO

Twenty-five years have passed since the last dance of Jordan and the Bulls, NBA champions for the sixth time in 1998, but in Chicago, the number 23 is still present in every corner of the city.

“MJ” has his statue in the United Center, with his photos in the stadium’s trophy case and with his number 23 next to Scottie Pippen’s 33 on the roof of the facility.

“In the 1990s, the atmosphere was very different here. The stadium was always completely packed and people came knowing that the team had what it took to go to the end,” says a member of the United Center security team, whose name has not been released. can be explicitly named because of internal policy, who personally experienced the moment of glory for the Bulls in his 30 years of working at the stadium.

He recalls Jordan’s leadership and how his charisma changed the history of the franchise: “In the ’90s, the players were already men. Now, despite being the same age, they are much more ‘kids’.”

On Michigan Avenue in the heart of downtown Chicago, tourists flock to the “Michael Jordan Steakhouse,” a franchise the player opened in the 1990s, and many of the city’s historic restaurants proudly display photos and gifts from their client ‘MJ’.

Jordan’s autographed Bulls number 23 jersey is on display as an heirloom at Portillo’s, the city’s most famous hot dog restaurant, and a floorboard of the Door is displayed in the back rooms of a State Street sporting goods store in the Loop’, Chicago’s economic hub. Jordan signed bulls that EFE had access to, the value of which is priceless.

Initially on public display, it is now kept in a private area of ​​the store and is only released for very special events.

This Friday, 25 years after that last title, Chicago celebrates the birthday of the man who forever put the Bulls on Olympus in the NBA and helped boost the business of a $4,100 million franchise.

Source: El heraldo

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