Basketball Players

Michael Jordan net worth… Wherewith, the billionaire athlete makes his estate?

Published

3 years ago

December 17, 2020

Michael Jordan net worth is an estimated billion as of the year 2020. Besides being the first athlete to conquer a billion dollars of fortune, he is the world’s richest athlete.

After playing 15 seasons in NBA, he earned quite an amount as his salary. Jordan made a total of $93.7 million. He was the first athlete to reach over $30 million.

Now that he has retired from his game, Michael still earns $100 million per year. It’s been nearly two decades, off the court, and he even now makes a gross amount of money. He earns $60 million each year from royalties of the Nike/Jordan brand.

Michael Jordan net worth

Source: People.com

Michael Jordan net worth is around $2.1 billion for the year 2020. Though, Michael Jordan first became a billionaire in 2014. It might surprise you that a trivial portion of Michael Jordan net worth is from his former playing. He has various endorsement deals. He owns most stakes in Charlotte Hornets (around 97 percent of the total equity). Hornets currently have a value of $1.3 billion.

Early life

Born on the 17th of February, 1963, Michael is a NewYorker. His mother served in finance (bank employee), while his father, James R. Jordan Sr., was an apparatus executive. When Michael was still a kid, his family moved to North Carolina. Hence, he attended high school in Wilmington.

There, at Emsley A. Laney High school, he played baseball, football, and basketball. Jordan played basketball throughout his sophomore year. Moreover, as a senior in 1981, he scored 30 points while playing on behalf of McDonald’s All-American Game.

Life at College

Although there were dozens of college recruiting programs like Syracuse, Duke, etc., he chose the University of North Carolina. There he had an average of 13.5 points per game.

In 1982, he led his team against Georgetown Hoyas in the NCAA championship. It during the end of the match when he scored a point in the remaining 15 seconds of the game. It was that specific shot that led to growth in his confidence. He also mentions that the attempt proved to be a turning point in his basketball career.

Jordan achieved many feathers in the cap in the three seasons he played with the UNC Tar Hills. The honor of Wooden College Player of the Year was one of them. However, he left the UNC a year early(1984) but rejoined later to get through his graduation in 1986. He graduated with a qualification of bachelor’s in cultural geography.

Career at NBA

Source: Seattle Spectator

Of the 1984 NBA draft, Michael Jordan was the third pick of the Chicago Bulls. Right after Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie. Jordan was the third pick and not the initial two was that the teams required a center. He acknowledged a seven-year contract with the Bulls, which was a deal of $6 million.

In the debut season of the Chicago Bulls, MJ had a scoring average of 28.2 points. Jordan grew to be popular amongst fans, even in the arenas facing him. The next thing- he was on the cover of the magazine Sports Illustrated. That magazine had the title “A Star is Born.”

In his third season, Jordan became along with Wilt Chamberlain, ‘the only player to score three thousand points in a season.’ Additionally, he emerged as the NBA’s first player with a history of 100 blocked shots and 200 steals in just a single season.

During Jordan’s fourth season, he was bestowed his first league MVP award. Moreover, he also acquired the subtitle of Defensive Player of the Year.

In the fifth season, Jordan signed for the most comprehensive trade-in NBA’s history. He and the Chicago Bulls signed an eight-year contract worth $25 million. After completing this contract, he signed a one-year deal meriting $30 million—the next $33.14 million pact, which was of just a year.

Retirement from NBA

Source: ESPN

MJ announced his retirement in the October of 1993. He stated that his passion for playing basketball has vanished. He played baseball afterward. Although in 1995, Jordan announced his rejoining the NBA. This was after 18 months of his retirement. During this time, he played with the jersey of number 45 (his baseball jersey number). Though he later took back his number 23.

It was six years later, in January of 1999, when Michael Jordan announced his retirement for the second time. Although in 2000, he returned, only this time as the owner and president of the basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan announced his comeback to the NBA again in 2001 to play for the Washington Wizards. In Philadephia on the 16th of April of 2003, Michael Jordan played his last game.

Annual royalties and the deal with Nike

With shattering all the shoe endorsement records, MJ signed a deal with Nike. It was a contract for five years, worth five hundred thousand dollars annually. However, Michael states that before signing Nike’s agreement, he had not worn the brand for once. Additionally, he wished to sign such a deal with Adidas. However, the offer by Nike was too resistible to turn down.

While he first wore Nike, he broke the rules of uniformity of the NBA. The brand paid fines for that league.

In 1985, the Air Jordan shoes first came into the market for the fans. There were around a million shoes sold within two months. The name Air Jordan generated a profit of about $100 million for Nike.

Initially, Michael was earning 25 cents on every Jordan shoe sold in 1992, while today, he makes $4 on each of them. An estimated $480 million in 2002-12, Nike has paid Michael as shoe royalty. Speaking as of today, he gets an average amount of about $80 to $100 million.

Earning from endorsements

As you might be knowing, Michael Jordan has a long list of the brands he promotes or endorses. Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Hanes, etc. being just a few. He was also tested positive for maintaining deals with 2K Sports, Upper Deck, and others. Apart from these, he owns a dealership of cars and a total number of seven restaurants.

One of the keystone endorsement deals that Michael signed in his lifetime was with Gatorade. MJ signed an endorsement deal worth $18 million for ten years at the end of the 1989 season. This deal brought both the brand and Michael a greater level of fame. A supermarket chain assertedly had used MJ’s face without any contract between them. In 2015, Jordan filed a lawsuit against it. He then revealed that he does not sign a deal unless it provides him with a minimum of $10 million. You might also know that he once turned down a deal worth $80 million of endorsing headphones solely for the reason that he certainly doesn’t like wearing them.

Jordan’s wealth and private jet

Micheal owns a 26 thousand square foot home with 11 bedrooms in Florida as his primary residence. He bought the land for $4.8 million and spent around $7.6 million making his dream home. His home took two years to complete. He also owns a lake home worth $3 million in North Carolina and Salt Lake, Utah.

In Chicago, Michael owns a mansion spread over 7 acres. The estate has almost everything you can imagine. Starting from 9 bedrooms and over a dozen bathrooms, several car-garage, wine cellar, basketball court, pool pavilion, and much more. Moreover, MJ had put his dream home on auction with a $29 million price, which he degraded at $14.8 million, yet there seems no suitable buyer for it.

Michael also owns a Gulfstream IV private jet, which is specific customization for him. The private plane is $50 million.

Michael Jordan net worth after divorce

Among the most expensive divorces in history is the divorce of Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy. Married in 1989, the couple had three kids. After 13 great years of marriage, Michael decided to divorce Juanita in 2013. As for alimony, he had to pay $168 million. As a result, the settlement included their real estate holdings, capital, and money.

In 2013, Jordan pledged vows of marriage again, with Yvette Prieto. Prieto is a model by profession. In the very next year, they had twin daughters.

How Michael Jordan net worth gained billions

After blowing a lot on his divorce, lifestyle, and a few other expenses, Michael Jordan net worth as of 2006 was $450 million. In addition, the same year, Michael bought a minority stake at NBA’s team Charlotte Bobcats. In 2010, Jordan paid $175 million and owned 80 percent of its total stakes. Moreover, in 2014, he increased his investments again, which was up to 89.5 percent. In the very same year, his fortune apart from the Hornets was $600 million and the same of Hornets $4116 million. This amount made Michael Jordan net worth a billion for the first time.

Summarising Michael Jordan net worth

Michael Jordan net worth is $2.1 billion for the year 2020. His earnings are a matter of consistent hard work and dedication towards his goal. However, after losing a considerable amount in his divorce settlement, he became a billionaire and among the wealthiest athletes ever existing.