Michael Jordan's NBC Salary Correction Issued After Tom Brady Claim Made

Michael Jordan is returning to the NBA as a special contributor for NBC when the regular season gets underway later this month.

The 2025/26 campaign starts when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Houston Rockets as they kick off their NBA Championship defence.

And NBC had hoped that by bringing Jordan onboard, they’d raise viewing figures with fans keen to hear the thoughts of the former Chicago Bulls hero.

When rumours of Jordan’s move to NBC came to light back in June, Patrick Bet-David and Stephen A. Smith discussed the reports on the PBD Podcast.

“A part of me as a fan sits here and says ‘Dude… Michael?’ They must be doing this because the NBA desperately needs his help because it’s lost viewership,” Bet-David started.

“Heck, people may watch the game to just hear his commentary and not even pay attention to the game, right?”

Jordan to earn more than Tom Brady?

Bet-David was also quick to point out that Jordan would be earning $40m per year, which would make him the highest paid sports analyst in the word, trumping the $37.5m Fox Sports pay Tom Brady for a similar role.

However, that figure wasn’t entirely correct according to Front Office Sports reporter Ryan Glasspiegel, who said the $40m figure, which would be about twice what Charles Barkley earns from TNT, is inaccurate, though NBC declined to comment.

MJ is 'going to be brutally honest' claims Smith (Image: Getty)

At the time, Jordan’s role was unknown, but it was reported: “The initial plan is for Jordan to appear in taped segments during the season to provide analysis that will air during pregame shows or halftime shows.”

That said, Smith spoke about the possibility of Jordan passing his judgment on the NBA, and the ESPN pundit believes MJ won’t shy away from voicing his opinion live on air.

Smith makes Jordan claim

“He’s going to be brutally honest - I can assure you that,” Smith said.

“He’s not going to be somebody who’s going to be passive. The Michael Jordan I know, when talking basketball, he is as candid as it gets. He ain’t trying to hurt nobody’s feelings. He ain’t trying to be insulting - but he’s going to tell you what’s going on.

“I don’t think he’s going to be passive at all. I really, really don’t, and I’m actually proud of him for doing it because, with the Jordan brand and him being worth over $2 billion, he don’t need this."

And Smith urged Jordan to take on more public commentary, adding: “Stop acting like you have nothing to say about basketball now that you’re retired - you talk about it all the damn time!”

In addition, Smith has admitted that Jordan would call the pundit to talk about topics that have been discussed on air, and hinted that the ex-Bulls icon was candid in the way he spoke.

“I don’t think he’s going to be shy about saying what he sees - at all,” Smith went on to say.

“As a matter of fact, if he is, he’s going to have to deal with me because I’m going to be in his ear telling him, ‘You’re getting shy now. That’s what we’re doing? That ain’t the MJ I know!’”