Michael Jordan signed watch deal with 83 YO company that shut down even before his NBA debut: "Not mature when it starts"
Michael Jordan has gone down in NBA history as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He and LeBron James are in the conversation for the GOAT, and both have become billionaires over the years.
Jordan was a megastar. Known not only for his accomplishments on the court but also for his deals off it, he was among the first NBA players to sign endorsement deals.
However, not all his endorsement deals were successful over the years. Back in 1983, Jordan had a watch deal ('Time Jordan') with a company named Excelsior. The deal didn't work out, though, and came to an end before Jordan made his debut in the NBA in 1984.
Excelsior was a watch company that was launched back in 1902 by Jules-Frederic Jeanneret and was among the best watch companies for decades. In the early 80s, though, the company experienced a downfall that resulted in its closure in 1985. However, Excelsior managed to revive years later and it has now returned to its high standards under the Excelsior Park name.
The six-time NBA champion and Finals MVP once referred to this deal back in 1991, when he was talking about the mistakes he made on and off the court.
"In retrospect, maybe I should've shown some negativity, so people had a sense of me as a human being. I could've been more honest, I guess, about some of the mistakes I made. I did hit [teammate] Will Perdue in the face. That was a mistake, and I could've talked about it [as Smith did in The Jordan Rules]," Michael Jordan once said, via Sports Illustrated.
"I've made some bad endorsements, like Time Jordan [a watch deal Jordan signed with a Canadian company, Excelsior, that never got ticking]. But what do you know when you're 21 and 22 going through all this? You mature as you go through it all, but you're not mature when it starts."
What endorsement deals did Michael Jordan have over his career?
After entering the league in 1984, Michael Jordan quickly became a megastar and one of the most famous personalities worldwide. His fame led to several endorsement deals even from the early stages of his career, with the one with Nike being the most significant.
"This included Quaker Oats' 10-year, $13.5-18 million deal to make MJ the face of their Gatorade drink. Jordan also signed deals with McDonalds, Chevy ($200K as a rookie), General Mills ($2M in 88), Sara Lee, Wilson, Hanes Underwear ($10M in 89) and Ball Park Franks ($2M in 90)," Ballislife writes in a 2015 article regarding Jordan's endorsement deals.
Several years after the end of his career, Michael Jordan became the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, which he sold for $3 billion in the summer, while also launching his own shoe company, named Jordan Brand.