Michael Jordan has long been retired since 2003, yet he remains with a bigger annual endorsement income than LeBron James or any other current NBA star.
Along the way, the Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion has ferociously protected his image and likeness. It's for that reason that Jordan took the stand in federal court in Chicago on Tuesday (August 18) for his ongoing lawsuit against defunct supermarket chain Dominick's for using his image without his permission in 2009.
In doing so, Jordan dropped the shocking revelation that he doesn't even entertain endorsement deals that are under $10 million.
"I didn't do deals for anything less than $10 million,"Jordan said in court, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. "I have the final say-so with everything that involves my name and my likeness...there's no decision that happens without my final approval."
The Charlotte Hornets owner added that he brought the case against Dominick's "to protect my likeness, my image—something that I value very preciously."
How preciously? Well, the 52-year-old, who's still widely regarded as the best basketball player to ever play in the NBA, says that he recently turned down an $80 million offer to endorse a line of headphones. He made that point to suggest if he could turn down that type of offer, then he would have never agreed to a deal with Dominick's, whose ad read "Michael Jordan...you are a cut above" and included a $2 savings coupon for Rancher's Reserve steaks.
"I felt like it was a misuse of my likeness, my name," Jordan said of the grocery ad. "It didn't fit the strategy we operated on."
He added: "I do feel that I'm qualified to determine how my likeness, my name, my persona is used in any ad."
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