January 06, 2009

Michael Jordan is with out a doubt the best basketball player of all time. He is known for his uncanny ability to make plays and his signature playing style. His coveted style became available to all fans through the creation of his own brand of footwear and apparel. Jordan signed with Nike in 1984 and the first release of the Air Jordan I followed shortly after. Like Jordan, his brand portrayed a classic style represented by the timeless “Jump-man” logo. However, in the early days of his NBA career, before world wide popularity and the numerous championships, Nike was the last brand Jordan wanted to represent. Originally, Jordan intended on wearing Converse or Adidas, which were endorsed by his college coach, Dean Smith. Yet Nike was the only brand making substantial a offer. Jordan made the reluctant decision to travel out to Nike headquarters with his manager, David Falk, to discuss a contract. With out Falk’s advisement Jordan may never have signed with Nike and today’s sportswear market would be drastically different. Despite his unwilling attitude Jordan accepted a deal with Nike for $2.5 million for 5 years.

The Air Jodan I featured a black and red color way which was banned by the NBA. True to his nature, Jordan did not care and chose to wear them anyway, being fined $5000 dollars a game. This controversy projected the brand, as well as Jordan, into the spotlight. In 1986 the high priced Air Jordan II hit the shelves… and stayed there. Due to such a poor sales record, Jordan seemed over it by the time Nike began discussing a Air Jordan III. However, Tinker Hatfield was brought on board and forever changed athletic shoe design. Hatfield was the first designer to sit down with an athlete and listen to their ideas and opinions of new product. Fittingly, Jordan was the first to receive such attention and it saved the brand. From then on the Jordan shoe series was a huge success and was eventually able to branch out from under Nike as Jordan Brand in 1997.