Michael Jordan Made More Money From Sneakers Than His Entire NBA Career

Michael Jordan has now become the highest paid retired athlete. However, it isn't from his legendary Chicago Bulls tenure or even his entire NBA career.  Jordan made more money selling his signature brand sneakers in 2014 alone, than he did during his entire 15-year career.

PBS' Newshour did an in-depth investigation into the economics behind modern sneaker culture and developed a very long and in-depth infographic on the industry.

According to PBS, Michael Jordan made $100 million last year from his Jordan brand sneakers, while he made just over $94 million from contracts in his 15-year NBA career. Now this may seem awfully strange, considering Jordan is one of the best NBA players in history, but you must take into account the change in value of money over the past decade due to inflation. Also, Jordan had entered the league when the NBA was just beginning its largest profit expansion in history. If Jordan, with his talent from back in the day, entered the league today, his starting contract itself would be much higher. His salary in 1994 was merely $4 million.

According to CBS Sports and the Bleacher Report, Jordan was a number 2 pick in 1984 and had a salary of less than a million dollars. While, today, the number one draft pick, Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl Anthony-Towns, will be making $5.7 million this year. Also, Jordan maxed out at $33 million in 1997 before the salary cap was established. In today's market, Jordan would be looking at a contract between $15 and $20 million as his first deal off his rookie contract, as opposed to what his first rookie contract started at (which was barely $2 million).

Now, taking into consideration the fact that the line of Nike Air Jordans are some of the most iconic products in the world, it's comes as no surprise that people are bound to become obsessed, especially considering the attachment to its namesake.

Although the figures may be quite drastic, when they're put into perspective it actually makes sense. Especially since Jordan redefined the shoe industry, Jordan helped make Nike, which is one of the most powerful athletic wear company in the world.

You can watch the full PBS Newshour report below: