In early 1984 the famous Nike sneaker brand that we now see everywhere today was struggling. The previous year they were huge but as the running shoe craze began to die down Nike needed something new and inviting to make sure that the company stayed on top of the industry. During this time Michael Jordan was already endorsing some other companies and Nike saw him as the "Golden Ticket" to their success and therefore set out to sign him.
Of course at this time Michael Jordan had no idea to what point this would grow but his agent saw the potential in signing a contract with Nike.
This then spawned the sneaker known
today by many as the Air Jordans.
Once Nike had gotten a hold of Michael they then presented him with the name as well
as the first style and set of colors that they were planning on creating. During the conference between MJ his agent and the Nike staff things seemed to not go so well and Michael was said to have a sort of bored look on his face. Nike representatives where worried but as soon as they left the meeting Michael said that he would like to take part in this deal.
After Michael decided to officially take part in this deal Nike signed a 2.5 million dollar contract for five years, plus royalties and
other fringe benefits
and this was then the entire "shoe game" changed. At that time many basket ball sneakers were simple and white but not the new Air Jordan 1's, they where a bold black and red. Now of
course this is a huge switch but it
caught the attention of viewers everywhere, even so much that the NBA banned the shoe from the league. This didn't stop Michael from wearing them though, but every game they were worn the NBA charged Michael a $5,000 fine. This fine was paid
by Nike and they could care less as their sneaker was getting HUGE exposure.
You would think that with its huge exposure they would sell off like nothing but with their steep prices the sales hadn't been all that good and Jordan was looking on leaving the deal. This was until Hatfield stepped in and sat down Michael to have a one on one discussion on where he would like to see the
design and company go. This was after the Air Jordan II's had been released and during the planning of the Air
Jordan III's. With the help of Michaels input on the new Jordan III's he made them lighter and with better materials which could be sold at a cheaper
price. This was the turning point of Nike as sales sky rocketed.
After many years with Nike they decided that it would be best to make Air Jordan Shoes a sub-brand of Nike. After this was put into action the Jordans no longer where created with the Nike Swoosh or the Nike name on the sneakers giving the Jordan brand endless possibilities on where to venture from this point.
A brand which started on a bumpy road has grown to create one of the biggest impacts on the shoe industry and until this day, are still worn and praised
on their appearance. Now there are many more Air Jordan
shoes out there which include Air Jordan 1 all the way up to Air Jordans
24 which was the number that Michael Jordan played with during his basket ball career. If you are looking to purchase some of his famous sneakers they can be found in most sneaker retailers
that are out today and although they are a bit more expensive expense comes with most nicer looking sneakers.
