Jordan Life Off the Basketball Court Retirement wont stop Fitflops endorsements

Twenty Ray Ban wayfarer Sale years from now, people will recall how Michael Jordan towered over the game of basketball. They also may still be buying shoes, shirts and jackets graced with his logo -- a player flying through the air, ball raised high in anticipation of a dunk shot. The appeal of the man often called the greatest athlete of all time is so strong that his retirement may not substantially undermine his ability to pull in lucrative endorsement deals, which earned him hundreds of millions of dollars during his stellar 13-year career with the Chicago Bulls. "Unlike most athletes whose marketability drops off precipitously the day they retire, Jordan's such an icon and so well known -- even to people who have never seen a basketball game -- that his ability to be an effective spokesperson won't be diminished very much," said Jim Andrews, editor of the IEG Endorsement Insider newsletter. Nike, the company with which Jordan is most closely identified, reportedly has him under contract through 2020. He's to be the unofficial CEO of the Jordan Brand, a stand- alone Nike shoe and apparel business that generates some $400 million in annual sales. According to IEG, Jordan earned $45 million in endorsements last year ($16 million of it from Nike). That sum handily handily eclipsed the $34 million salary he earned for playing basketball. He also Fitflops far surpassed the endorsements of any other star. The next-most sought-after U.S. athlete last year was golfer Tiger Woods, who made some $28 million, primarily from Nike and American Express. Jordan today has 13 endorsement contracts each worth at least $1 million. He sells Gatorade for Quaker Oats, long-distance for MCI Worldcom, hot dogs for Ballpark Franks, batteries for Rayovac, underwear for Hanes and cologne for Bijan. And that's just a small part of Jordan's impact on the economy. Fortune magazine last June figured that through sales of books, videos, movies, clothes Fitflop and retail products, game tickets, TV revenues and endorsements, Jordan by himself has generated some $10 billion since coming into the league. (His film "Space Jam" racked up $230 million in worldwide box office sales all by itself.) Jordan's ability to drive the lane, make impossible shots and control big games established his reputation as the best to ever play basketball. His easy-going sincerity and infectious smile as a TV pitchman turned him into one of the most famous people in the world. "He's such a super-human talent that everybody aspires to his level of performance," said Bob Dorfman, who rates the marketability of sports stars for Foote, Cone Belding in San Francisco. "Everybody wants to be that good and have that much success." Indeed, one of the catchiest phrases of the decade turned out to be "I want to be like Mike" in the Gatorade commercial. Jordan rewrote the rules for endorsements, demanding and routinely getting multiyear deals. Many of his contracts still have several years to go, so don't expect him to disappear from your television any time soon. And if Jordan remains in the public spotlight, through coaching, TV commentary or even playing golf, there's no reason why he can't continue to fetch huge endorsement fees in the future. "He's got such as strong image as a winner that as long as he's out there and isn't receding into the leisurely life of retirement, he can certainly continue to be a strong endorser," said Dorfman. Phil Knight, Nike's eccentric CEO, believes that there will be no falloff in Jordan's drawing power. In fact, he's counting on it because Jordan has been such an important cog in Nike's growth. Shoes and apparel bearing the Jordan logo have accounted for more than $2.5 billion of the company's revenue. Entire basketball teams wear Jordan brand products, among them the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Cincinnati and St. John's. "Michael Jordan is the ultimate 'Just do it' athlete," said Knight in a statement, invoking the Nike slogan. "I think that when people say his career is over, I would limit it to his basketball career. He's very bright, he's very competitive and when he decides to take out some of his competitive instincts on the business world, look out!" Industry experts say Jordan could eventually lose endorsements for products such as Gatorade, which focused on his basketball- playing abilities. On the other hand, he should be able to continue indefinitely his work with companies such as MCI Worldcom, which have traded on his personality and fame rather than his athletic ability. One thing seems certain -- no player in any sport right now is capable of replacing Jordan as the ultimate advertising ace. "He's one of a kind," said IEG's Andrews. "I don't see anybody in the next five years getting the kind of money he gets."