Why did Nike, which was about to go bankrupt at that time, sign Jordan, the god of basketball?

The love between Nike and Jordan should be thanks to the arrogance of Adidas. Although Jordan finished the lore in the NCAA finals and won the Olympic gold medal on behalf of the United States, in the eyes of most people, he is just a good rookie and a good scorer. At that time, few people realized that Jordan would be the future basketball god. Many years later, Bulls management admitted that we just thought Jordan might grow into one of the excellent shooting guards.

As a rookie entering the NBA, Jordan must face the choice of signing a contract with a sports brand. Adidas was the overlord of the NBA at that time, and Jordan himself wanted to join Adidas, but Adidas didn't have much enthusiasm for Jordan, and it could even be said that it was arrogant, which also left an excellent opportunity for Nike.

When Jordan was angry at being left out by Adidas, Nike, who was almost bankrupt, found the door. Nike, who had little money in his pocket, offered Jordan a high-priced endorsement contract of $2.5 million for five years. In order to persuade Jordan, Nike made a short basketball film for Jordan, which touched Jordan's parents. Even in order to get Jordan, Nike promised to build a sub-brand (AJ) in Jordan's image, and Jordan will have the sales share of AJ for life (which is why Nike now gives Jordan hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsement fees every year). The endorsement contract of $2.5 million became the first NBA player to own a personal sneaker brand, and moved Jordan with Nike's sincerity. They finally came together.

Perhaps even Nike didn't think that a Jordan, just a Jordan, would make them rich quickly, and even they almost squeezed Adidas out on the basketball court. The signing of Nike and Jordan is also considered to be the most classic signing in sports history.