35 years ago, the union of two colossi would completely change the history of the sport. In September 1984, the young and promising Michael Jordan signed an exclusive contract with the Nike brand that would make him a world icon.
In those years, Nike was a consolidated firm in the United States sneaker market, but it had not yet taken the planetary leap it would make later. For his part, Jordan was a great promise that came from North Carolina and had just joined the Chicago Bulls.
The owner of Nike, Phil Knight sought to win the market to who was, at that time, his competitor: Reebok. For this, he hired a basketball player. Of course, Jordan was just a player with a lot of potentials – but it was a bet that Nike was determined to make.
They say it was difficult to convince Michael, who was determined to make his agent sign with Adidas. However, Knight offered him everything: two cars, a millionaire contract and, most importantly, shoes specially designed for him – which later became known as Jordan shoes. Today, you can find a wide range of cheap Jordan shoes with the utmost quality.
Never, until September 2010, a sportswear company had done that: customize a product to the level of making it unique. But with Jordan, Nike was willing to do it. Finally, Jordan said yes. It would be 5 years of exclusivity.
Nike was not willing to give away money. The contract, the first one they signed, had three goals for the basketball player, of which he had to achieve one: he had to win the “Rookie of the Year” award.
Also, he had to become an All-Star and he should have scored an average of 20 points for the game. If in the next three years, he did not get any of the three,cheap jordans for sale, the company could cancel the agreement.
A few months later, what would be an unmatched product was born: the “Air Jordan.” Nike shoes specially designed for Jordan with a wide range of styles and colors. The rest was a pure success, although not smoothly.
The NBA was not willing for a player to wear colored sneakers (remember, it was 1984) because the politics of the League of the United States were white shoes. Nike received fines for every time Jordan played with the “Air” and paid them all. The publicity was taking effect.
Jordan started to fly. In his first season in the Bulls, he averaged 28.2 points per game and yes, he received the “Rookie of the Year.” His rebellion, quality, and special shoes were irresistible. Everyone wanted to be like him.
In March and 1985, the first “Air Jordan” went on sale for all audiences. So much so that a year later, at the end of 1985, Nike had sold a whopping $100 million for the “Air Jordan” 15franchise.
From that moment, Jordan and Nike would not separate. cheap jordan 11,Both became world phenomena and there is no way to explain them separately.
