In its first year, the Air Jordan 1 netted $126 million for Nike (adjusting for inflation, nearly $324 million today), annihilating their expectations to sell $3 million worth of shoes in four years. Nike happily paid the fine and concurrently shot their infamous “Banned in the NBA” marketing campaign, turning their new venture into the sort of forbidden fruit fashion-obsessed kids from the streets and beyond salivate over.
#DIOR JORDANS CODE#
At the time, it was the richest shoe deal in professional basketball by a margin of about $150,000.Īccording to NBA folklore, the black and red colorway of the original Air Jordan 1s was considered a violation of the league’s uniform standards, and then-commissioner David Stern-who apparently had never met a dress code he didn’t like-authorized a fine of $5000 every time Jordan wore them on the court. Nike was rumored to have offered $250,000 for the exclusive rights to a Michael Jordan sneaker line. Just as it would for many of us, it took some assertive (some would even say forceful) encouragement from Jordan’s mother to make the trip to Oregon happen. According to the documentary/cultural tentpole The Last Dance, Jordan did what he could to avoid taking the meeting with Nike, deeply reluctant to even field their offer. Jordan admired and favored the Adidas brand, but they couldn’t justify giving him his own shoe. The incumbent sneaker company did not want to put a rookie player-highly touted as he was-before the two best players in the league for much of the past decade. Converse was the official sneaker of the NBA, worn proudly (as well as advertised) by league linchpins Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. They were still mired in their upstart years and known primarily for their innovations in the world of track and field and their affiliation with tennis firebrand John McEnroe. In 1984, Nike wasn’t the world-beating shoe dynasty they would become.
Michael Jordan did not want to take that flight to Beaverton.
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