Michael Jordan's Nike deal trumps Steph Curry's Under Armour deal by whopping $110 million

Michael Jordan is arguably the top three best players in NBA history. The Chicago Bulls legend won three-peats with in the 1990s and was influential in taking the league to the global stage. While Jordan is still regarded as one of the most recognised faces in the NBA, during his legendary career, there was a time when Jordan's popularity even outgrew the league's popularity. For a person of Jordan's stature, it is quite unsurprising that Jordan's lucrative deal with sports apparel brand Nike trumps every deal in the NBA. 

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NBA shoe deals: Michael Jordan Nike deal trumps rest of NBA deals

Last week, a report from Forbes, projected Michael Jordan's earnings from his deal with Nike between May 2018 and May 2019 to be a whopping $130 million. That is almost four times more than the second-best shoe deal, that of LeBron James' with Nike. LeBron made just $32 million despite being an active player while Jordan has not played in the NBA since 2003.

Delving further into the list highlights the Michael Jordan Nike earnings, as Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry made just $20 million from Under Armour during the same period. That is $110 million less than what Jordan made from Nike and Jordan Brand. The other top players in the list were Kevin Durant at $26 million with Nike.

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NBA shoe deals: Steph Curry Under Armour deal

NBA stars bagging multi-million endorsement deals were quite a common sight in the NBA. However, Michael Jordan's deal with Nike to kickstart his own line of basketball sneakers gave rise to a new unchartered market for shoe manufacturers and NBA stars. Over the years, the Jordan brand has gone onto make a name for itself among NBA stars and already has some top stars like Zion Williamson, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony under the Jordan Brand umbrella.

62.6% of NBA players took to the court wearing Nike sneakers between May 2018 and May 2019. Adidas comes next with around 16% while Air Jordan comes third with 9.4%. Under Armour follows with just below 5%.

Michael Jordan Nike promo

Steph Curry's deal with Under Armour runs through the 2024 season and as already mentioned above, the Warriors star made $20 million from his sneaker deal last year. Curry's Warriors teammate Klay Thompson is one of the few stars in the NBA to opt out of the deal with the established brand and sign a lucrative deal with a growing sneaker manufacturer. Thompson signed a 10-year deal with Chinese brand Anta in 2015. Last year, he made around $9 million from his sneaker deal.

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Michael Jordan Nike: How much has Michael Jordan made from Nike?

Since signing with Nike in 1984, Jordan's paycheck from the sports apparel brand has exponentially grown over the last three decades. While his total earnings from Nike remains unknown, Forbes estimates Jordan banks over $100 million every year from Nike. Some reports estimate Nike has paid Jordan over $1.3 billion since 1984.

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