Michael Jordan: the greatest empire in sports
From sneakers to the NBA, NASCAR, technology, and betting: how Michael Jordan turned his name into a business machine that, more than two decades after his retirement, continues to grow and generate millions
M ichael Jordan appeared this Tuesday in Lisbon seated between two of the most important men in the sports betting business: Carsten Koerl , CEO of Sportradar, and Jason Robins , founder and CEO of DraftKings. He was not there solely as the Bulls legend. Jordan is an investor and advisor to Sportradar and also holds a stake in DraftKings .
The scene sums up quite well what Michael Jordan has become. At 63 years old, more than two decades after his retirement, his name is still appearing in some of the businesses that are transforming sport . And not just as an image. Jordan has gone from selling sneakers to holding stakes in teams, technology companies, betting firms, NASCAR, restaurants, tequila, and collectibles.
His net worth is around $4.3 billion , according to Forbes . Throughout his entire playing career, he earned about $90 million in salaries . From his business partners, Forbes estimates that he has received about $2.4 billion before taxes . However, Michael Jordan's big business was never playing basketball. It was making sure Michael Jordan remained a business long after he stopped playing .
It all started with a pair of sneakers
In 1984, Nike signed 21-year-old Jordan to a contract worth around $500,000 a year plus royalties . Four decades later, Forbes estimates that Nike pays him close to $300 million a year . The real magnitude, however, lies elsewhere. Jordan Brand generated $7.034 billion in sales for Nike during fiscal year 2026 , although it fell 3% compared to the previous year. It is not money that Jordan takes directly into his pocket: it is the revenue from the brand’s products within Nike. But it helps to understand the size of the machine he helped create . And the machine has not remained confined to basketball.
In 2026, Jordan Brand took another step: it became Nike’s first brand to outfit a national football team , after signing a collaboration with Brazil for its second kit and a streetwear collection. The Jumpman, born on a basketball court, has thus established itself on one of the biggest stages in world football. It is one of the keys to understanding Jordan. And his name no longer depends on the sport that made him famous .
The Other Side of the Empire
Jordan also learned that there was another way to make money from sports. In 2010 he bought the Charlotte Hornets . In 2023 he sold most of his stake, in a deal that valued the franchise at around $3 billion , but he retained a minority stake. And even before leaving Charlotte, he had already entered another sport. In 2020 he became, together with Denny Hamlin , owner of 23XI Racing , a NASCAR team. In February 2026, one of his cars won the Daytona 500, another of those moments that show just how far the figure has come.
And then the technology money arrived . This is where the empire becomes even more interesting. Jordan did not limit himself to continuing to capitalize on his image. He began putting money and reputation into businesses that were changing the sports industry . At Sportradar, a company specializing in sports data and technology, he is an investor and special advisor . He increased his stake in 2021 and then took on a formal advisory role, especially in strategy, product, and the U.S. market. He did something similar with DraftKings. He joined in 2020 as an investor and special advisor to the board in exchange for an equity stake, with responsibilities related to strategy, product, marketing, and other company initiatives . And that is why his appearance this week in Lisbon is especially significant.
The list goes on. Jordan is co-founder of Cincoro Tequila , a business he shares with other big names in sports and entertainment. He has also been involved in businesses linked to dining and luxury and is behind Grove XXIII , his exclusive golf project in Florida. And even the market for Jordan historical pieces keeps growing. His 1986 rookie card reached a price of $2.7 million in a private sale in 2025, according to Forbes.The logic is simple... and overwhelming. Some want to wear Jordan. Some want to invest in Jordan. Some want to collect Jordan. And some want to do business with Jordan .
A fortune with another mission
There is a part of Michael Jordan’s empire that does not appear on the balance sheets. It is the millions he has allocated to hospitals, education, social organizations, and programs for children. Jordan has allocated $27 million to Novant Health , according to the organization itself. The money has funded four family clinics for communities with difficulties accessing healthcare and, more recently, a neuroscience institute that bears his mother’s name, Deloris P. Jordan . This latest contribution was $10 million .
His relationship with the organization Make-A-Wish also goes back decades. In 2023 he donated $10 million , at the time the largest individual donation ever received by the organization, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. And together with Jordan Brand, he committed $100 million over ten years to support organizations linked to Black communities in areas such as education, economic justice, and social justice.
