Veteran marketers are "astonished" at the way Michael
Jordan "managed to stretch his contracts far into the
future," as he "will still be making appearances and earning
fees on more than half of his endorsements," according to
Sam Walker of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Walker offers
details and terms of some of Jordan's endorsements deals:
MCI-WORLDCOM ('96-2006) -- Jordan earns "roughly" $4M a year
in cash and stock options; QUAKER OATS ('91-2001) -- when
the contract expires, he could earn "as much as" $18M; NIKE
('95-2020); BIJAN FRAGRANCES ('96-2006) -- "a guaranteed"
$1M a year, plus royalties; GENERAL MILLS ('98-?) -- annual
income "probably less than" $1M; WILSON SPORTING GOODS ('84-
?) -- Wilson will continue to pay him about $1M a year,
possibly because of the Jordan golf equipment; RAYOVAC ('95-
2005) -- about $2M per year; SARA LEE ('90-2000) -- $2M per
year; CHICAGOLAND CHEVROLET DEALERS (year-to-year since
'84); OAKLEY ('95-2005) -- $500,000 in fees, stock options
valued at $1M per year; SPORTSLINE USA ('96-2006) -- $10M
over the life of the ten-year deal; AMF BOWLING ('97-2002);
UPPER DECK ('91-2002 or beyond) (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/15).
ROGER SAYS NOLL WAY! Stanford Univ. Professor of
economics Roger Noll says that the "economic impact" of
Jordan's retirement will be "hard to calculate." Noll:
"That's going to be hard to tell because of the difficulty
of separating what is the result of the lockout and what is
the effect of Jordan's leaving. My belief is that this is
going to be a hard year for the NBA." Noll, on Fortune's
report that estimated Jordan's economic impact at $10B: "The
premise of that article is nuts. First of all, the dollars
being spent are entertainment dollars. People are not
suddenly not going to do something because a star is not
around. ... Although there is a lag right now, in a year
someone else will be the superstar" (USA TODAY, 1/15).
HOOPS SHOPPING NETWORK? Under the header, "Jordan
Retirement Nets Quick $1 Million For HSN," Mark Albright
reports that FL-based Home Shopping Network sold 40,000
Jordan-related items on Wednesday, all made by Upper Deck.
The items "ranged from autographed basketballs to $105
bronzed trading cards." HSN interrupted programming to air
Jordan's press conference and began selling the merchandise
"minutes after" it ended (ST. PETE TIMES, 1/15).
IS RANDY READY? In St. Paul, Charley Walters writes
that Jordan's retirement "could mean" Vikings WR Randy Moss
"will become Nike's lead replacement for its worldwide
sports apparel endorsements." Nike "has been trying to
entice" Moss into accepting a "marquee" deal, but Moss will
wait until the end of the season (PIONEER PRESS, 1/15).
