Michael Jordan becomes the richest basketball player ever, as Nike and Charlotte Hornets sale takes Bulls legend’s net worth to $3.5 Billion

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and is the wealthiest NBA star in history.

During his 15-season NBA career, Jordan won six NBA championships and five MVP awards, plus broke ten NBA scoring titles during his time with the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan’s time on the court gave nearly $94 million during his career with the Bulls and Washington Wizards up until his retirement in 2003 at age 40, according to sports contracts tracker Spotrac.

The Chicago Bulls legend, who bought the Charlotte franchise for $275 million in 2010, when they were known as the Bobcats after retiring, has a whopping $3.5 billion net worth according to Bloomberg.

Jordan became the league’s first black owner when he purchased Charlotte, Bloomberg estimated that the 60-year-old basketball icon-turned-businessman sold a 65% stake in the team and kept less than 5% interest.

Jordan’s wealth reportedly surged after he sold his majority stake in the Hornets this month for $3 billion to hedge fund tycoon Gabriel Plotkin and private equity mogul Rick Schnall according to ESPN.

Aside from the Hornets sale, Jordan’s seven-figure wealth also stems from his Jordan Brand apparel licensing deal with Nike, according to Bloomberg.

Last year, Nike reported that its partnership with Jordan — which began in his rookie year in 1984 — brought in $5.1 billion in revenue for the company, representing a staggering 11% of Nike’s total sales.

As part of the Jordan Brand deal, His Airness signed a contract with Nike that earns him $500,000 annually plus a 5% royalty on all of Jordan Brand’s earnings.

Based on what’s public about the deal, Jordan earned $255.5 million from the athletic apparel giant in 2022 alone.

Jordan also had endorsement deals with Hanes, Gatorade, Chevrolet, McDonald’s, Ball Park Franks, Wheaties, battery company Rayovac, and sports trading card brand Upper Deck.

In 1991, Jordan inked a 10-year endorsement deal with Gatorade, resulting in the famed “Be Like Mike” TV commercial and earning him an estimated $1.4 million annually.

He also appeared on the Wheaties box a record-breaking 19 times — more than any other athlete.

The exact payday Jordan previously or currently received from these deals remains unclear. They’re collectively attributed to making him the first billionaire NBA player in 2014, at age 51.

He also receives income from owning and operating Nascar’s 23XI Racing, which he launched in 2020 with a star-studded roster including Bubba Wallace, the circuit’s only black driver.

The same year, he was granted an undisclosed equity stake in DraftKings in exchange for “providing guidance and strategic advice,” the sports betting company said in a statement about the deal last September.

Jordan Lives also has an impressive real estate portfolio.

His main residence is reportedly a sprawling mansion in a highly exclusive gated community in Jupiter, Fla., that he bought for a modest $4.8 million in 2012 before doing a multimillion-dollar renovation on the property.

It is set behind a gate emblazoned with his legendary No. 23 on it and features a regulation-size basketball court with his “Jumpman” Nike logo.

He also owns a nine-bedroom, 19-bathroom home in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, two estates in North Carolina, where he grew up and went to college at the University of North Carolina, and another in Ski City, Utah.

Jordan owns a 13-seat Gulfstream G-IV private jet worth $62 million, custom-wrapped in a grey-and-white pattern that pays homage to his Air Jordan range of Nike shoes.