Michael Jordan. Photo: Nicolas Richoffer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Michael Jordan was drafted third overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. He won six NBA championships with the team, in two three-peats from 1991 to 1993 and 1996 to 1998, and set a then-record of 72 regular season wins in 1995-96. He is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
He is also one of the most successful athletes in business history, and much of that business still runs through Chicago.
The shoe that built a category
The Air Jordan line, launched with Nike in his rookie era, turned athletic shoes into collectibles. Release days still draw lines at sneaker shops across the city, and resale prices for older models can run far above what they cost new. On the North Side, independent sneaker stores and consignment shops depend on Jordan releases for much of their traffic.
For neighborhood retailers, the Jordan brand is a lesson in the power of scarcity and storytelling. Limited releases, numbered editions and careful marketing keep demand high year after year.
Beyond shoes
After his playing career, Jordan became an owner in professional sports, and he has invested in a range of businesses. His career after basketball also included a stint in minor league baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization in 1994, during his first retirement.
The Chicago effect
Jordan’s years with the Bulls helped make Chicago a global brand too. Tourists still come to see the statue outside the United Center. Bars and restaurants near the arena, and across the city, fill up on game nights in a way that traces back to the dynasty years.
In Uptown, sports bars on Broadway still show Bulls games and draw fans who remember the 1990s. Vintage jerseys and memorabilia sell in thrift and resale shops. The championship era is part of the city’s shared memory, and memory has commercial value.
An influencer before the word
Long before social media, Jordan showed how a personal brand could move products across categories. Today’s influencers, from YouTube creators to athletes with their own product lines, are following a playbook he helped write, much of it in Chicago.
Joel Sandoval covers arts, music venues and nightlife.
