Michael Jordan's $256 million payout from Nike deal is insane (2024)

Michael Jordan is unarguably the most popular NBA player of all time. Many consider him as the GOAT for a reason, and so it's not really a surprise why his Jordan Brand with Nike is one of the most sought-after sneakers in the world.

Thanks to his licensing deal with Nike that gave birth to the Jordan Brand, the Chicago Bulls legend continues to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year. In 2022 alone, Jordan got an estimated $256.1 million payout for the sales of his shoes, per Front Office Sports.

The Jordan Brand reportedly made $5.1 billion for the fiscal year 2022. As part of his deal with Nike, MJ is entitled to get 5% of the earnings from his shoe sales.

Sure enough, Nike is happy to pay Jordan that bonkers amount of money considering the profits they have gotten from the deal. After all, the Jordan Brand has earned the apparel giant about $19.4 billion over the last five fiscal years–which would amount to $1 billion in earnings for MJ under his deal.

What's interesting to note, however, is that Michael Jordan actually just earned $90 million in NBA salary throughout his career. The now-Charlotte Hornets owner has basically doubled his career earnings in one year with just one business.

Jordan has certainly used his popularity to increase his wealth further, further proving that he is also a great businessman off the court. Currently, Jordan's net worth is estimated to be at $1.7 billion. His net worth in 2021 was valued at $1.6 billion.