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- Jul 24, 2018
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2. Tiger Woods - Tsh. Bilioni 5.8
3. Arnold Palmer - Tsh. Bilioni 3.9
4. Jack Nicklaus - Tsh. Bilioni 3.8
5. Cristiano Ronaldo - Tsh. Bilioni 3.7
6. LeBron James - Tsh. Bilioni 3.5
7. Lionel Messi - Tsh. Bilioni 3.4
8. Floyd Mayweather - Tsh. Bilioni 3.3
9. Roger Federer - Tsh. Bilioni 3.2
10. Phil Mickelson - Tsh. Bilioni 3.1
Kiasi cha Fedha kinawakilisha faida za kazi zilizorekebishwa na Mfumuko wa Bei
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Last month, LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. It marked another notch in his resume in the ongoing debate on whether he or Michael Jordan is the league’s G.O.A.T.
But on the financial scoreboard, MJ is still the clear champ—and the gap is growing.
Since he was drafted in 1984, Jordan has earned an estimated $3.3 billion when adjusted for inflation, more than any other athlete in the history of sports; the tally is $2.37 billion unadjusted. James ranks sixth overall at $1.53 billion after factoring inflation—he is fourth on a nominal level at $1.23 billion, by Sportico’s count. (Click here for the full list of 50.)
James was the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2022 after bringing in $127 million, but that list only reflects active athletes. Jordan out-earned all of them with an estimated $180 million, almost entirely from Nike.
The Nike-Jordan partnership was born in 1984 and helped turn the Swoosh from a barely profitable enterprise with $920 million in revenue, to a $49 billion sportswear giant with a market value of $187 billion. Jordan has grossed roughly $1.8 billion from Nike, not factoring inflation, since that first contract, negotiated by David Falk for $500,000 a year plus royalties. It represents 75% of MJ’s career earnings, and the annual check has ballooned with the growth of the brand over the past decade. Jordan also has maintained endorsement relationships in retirement with Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck and 2K Sports.
Interest in the Nike-Jordan origin story is such that four decades later—and 20 years after Jordan put away his high tops for good—it has been retold in a feature-length film called Air that will reach theaters in April. Ben Affleck stars as Nike co-founder Phil Knight, while Matt Damon is Sonny Vaccaro, a legend in the basketball sneaker game and the person who recruited a reluctant MJ to Nike.
“The deal was a gamechanger for Nike and sports in general,” Henry Schafer, an executive at the Q Scores Company, said in a phone interview. “It opened up doors for athletes to generate significant income and brought to life the value of celebrity endorsers. Jordan was a trendsetter.”
Schafer’s polling shows 20% of Americans six and older still tab MJ as one of their favorite personalities, producing a Q Score of 26, tied for No. 1 among all athletes. Only Tiger Woods has a higher awareness level than Jordan’s 77%, but Woods’ negative ratings push his Q Score to a below-average 10.
