Fact Check - Did Michael Jordan turn down $120 million from Disney? Viral report debunked
Michael Jordan was recently involved in an April Fool's joke online. A viral report featured the NBA legend turning down a $120 million offer from Disney. The post seemed legitimate, and fans bought into the idea. However, everyone failed to notice that the article was published on Apr. 1.
The seemingly deliberate misleading content claimed that Disney offered Michael Jordan the opportunity to become the new face of the company. According to sources, there were rumors about Disney's offer to Jordan that surfaced sometime in March. It started with an article from The Dunning-Kruger Times saying that the Walt Disney Corporation was in desperate need of rebranding.
After the original source was taken down, many other fishy sources reposted the article word-for-word. Then came Apr. 1 when Daily News In Time reposted The Dunning-Kruger Times' piece on their website. It was at that point that it became obvious that the whole thing was a big sham.
Michael Jordan could become billionaire soon
Hypothetically, if Michael Jordan turned down a $120 million offer from Disney, it wouldn't be the worst move. For a while now, Jordan has been planning to sell his majority stake at the Charlotte Hornets worth over $1.7 billion. The imaginary $120 million offer from Disney would be nothing but loose change in MJ's pockets. Besides, who would want to replace Mickey Mouse as the face of Disney?
Selling the Hornets will put Jordan next to LeBron James as one of the NBA greats to have a billion-dollar net worth. Jordan is planning to sell his stake to a group led by franchise minority owner Gabe Plotkin. It will be a win-win situation for both parties. Jordan will go home with loads of cash, while the Hornets have the opportunity to start afresh and clean up their mess.
However, that doesn't mean the NBA legend will no longer be involved with the Hornets. MJ will still be the minority owner after dealing with his majority stake. However, being a minority owner would mean that he would no longer be as proactive as he once was for the team. By then, Jordan would solely be making money from the organization simply by having a share.