A former NBA star revealed exactly what happened when he arrived at Michael Jordan’s home wearing Adidas clothing - and it is fair to say that the legendary NBA star did not mess about.
Jordan, 61, has been associated with Nike since 1984.
The American sportswear and sneakers brand first started producing shoes for the Basketball star in November 1984 before the first ‘Air Jordan’ shoe was released to the public in April 1985.
A silhouette of Jordan serves as the inspiration for the ‘Jumpman’ logo which originates from a photograph taken during the 1984 Olympics in which Jordan represented Team USA.
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Jordan’s original agreement almost never happened with the likes of Adidas and Converse also ‘offering’ the former NBA star lucrative deals.
But according to FOX, Jordan accepted a $250,000 payment from Nike that ‘blew the other offers out of the water’.
And since then, he has had a huge influence on the brand.
According to Front Office Sports, the former Chicago Bulls star pockets around 5% on Jordan sales as part of his licensing agreement with Nike.
The outlet explained how Jordan earned $256m from the deal in year 2022 which no doubt contributed to his eye-watering net worth of $3.5B according to Forbes.
So, when former NBA star Tim Thomas turned up at his house clad in Adidas gear, it is fair to say Jordan was not best pleased.
A reasonable thing to do in this situation may have been to politely ask him to leave and return in different clothes. But Thomas did not get off so lightly.
“But I was an Adidas athlete, so I walk in MJ’s house, I got all Adidas gear on,” Thomas explained [quotes via Fadeaway World].
“So, MJ stopped me at the door, ‘Hey oh, you gotta take that off.’ So, they basically stripped me down and put me in all Nike gear.
“So, when I end up leaving MJ's house, the funny thing was all my Adidas gear was packed up in the bag sitting outside. He didn't even want to leave the gear inside."
It's safe to say that Thomas probably took the necessary precautions with the brand of clothing he wore around Jordan ahead of future meetings.
Topics: Michael Jordan, Nike, Adidas, Basketball
Luke Davies