Michael Jordan, Jerry Richardson top list of highest-paid ex-athletes

[CollegePanther]

Pretty cool to have two in the top 5 right here in Charlotte. (Michael Jordan no.1 and Jerry Richardson no.5) 

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article13554047.html

[Gabeking]

that's pretty incredible considering just how unprofitable ownership in the nfl was last time they were working toward a new cba

Thing is I don't think they obtained most of their profits from owning sports teams

[CollegePanther]

Thing is I don't think they obtained most of their profits from owning sports teams

Michael Jordan didn't, Jerry Richardson on the other hand...?

[PantherFanOne]

Jerry Richardson certainly parlayed the playoff money he made long ago, ago playing with the Colts,into a big hunk of change over the years.

[pstall]

Jerry Richardson certainly parlayed the playoff money he made long ago, ago playing with the Colts,into a big hunk of change over the years.

Yeah hard to argue that. Made the most of it and did ok.

[csx]

oh no doubt ownership of an nfl team is basically charity work at this point

Maybe we should rely on seasonal agricultural labor to own our beloved teams.

[RelaxImaPro]

Jordan pretty much made Nike and Gatorade into the huge brands they are today.  The amount of money he still gets from them every year is ridiculous.

 

Just from his endorsements of Gatorade, Nike, etc. he earns anywhere from $80-100 million a year... which is easily far more than #2 ex-athlete on the list.

 

What's funny is I remember MJ telling a story about initially wanting to sign a contract with Adidas, which had always been his favorite brand.  Nike, who's stock was plummeting at the time and in dangerous territory financially, had already previously came to Jordan (who was still an unproven rookie at the time) and offered to go all in on him by giving him his own brand... Jordan shocked NIke by declining and taking less money to go with Adidas because he felt some sense of brand loyalty since he had worn Adidas his entire life.  He asked Adidas about having his own shoe brand and they quickly rejected it... so Jordan backed out and signed with Nike.  He also did it with the stipulation that he gets a cut of every shoe sold.

 

We all know what happened afterwards.

 

Lol, ain't nobody ever getting a deal like that one again.  Credit to MJ by maximizing it to it's full potential by being the GOAT though.

[The Huddler]

Thats right baby. Charlotte

[camycamcan]

Jordan pretty much made Nike and Gatorade into the huge brands they are today. The amount of money he still gets from them every year is ridiculous.

Just from his endorsements of Gatorade, Nike, etc. he earns anywhere from $80-100 million a year... which is easily far more than #2 ex-athlete on the list.

What's funny is I remember MJ telling a story about initially wanting to sign a contract with Adidas, which had always been his favorite brand. Nike, who's stock was plummeting at the time and in dangerous territory financially, had already previously came to Jordan (who was still an unproven rookie at the time) and offered to go all in on him by giving him his own brand... Jordan shocked NIke by declining and taking less money to go with Adidas because he felt some sense of brand loyalty since he had worn Adidas his entire life. He asked Adidas about having his own shoe brand and they quickly rejected it... so Jordan backed out and signed with Nike. He also did it with the stipulation that he gets a cut of every shoe sold.

We all know what happened afterwards.

Lol, ain't nobody ever getting a deal like that one again. Credit to MJ by maximizing it to it's full potential by being the GOAT though.

when his Jordan 1s were banned for a few years he got fined every game he wore them and he kept wearing them and Nike picked up every fine which I thought was really cool

[Gabeking]

Michael Jordan didn't, Jerry Richardson on the other hand...?

Fast food

[Kakarot]

Big ups to MJ! #1 in the city!

[Brooklyn Bully]

It's interesting to see so manhy golfers on that list. Talk about perfect timing. They got their names on balls, clubs, and bags right as the sport started to get huge. Once Tiger retires, he'll be there too.