While Michael Jordan was quoted in the Chicago Sun-
Times yesterday as saying that he is getting out of the
endorsement business, USA TODAY's Bruce Horovitz writes,
"What Jordan really wants in future endorsement deals [is]
to call the shots." Jordan's financial adviser Curtis Polk
said that Jordan will "team up only with companies where he
has a meaningful ownership stake or where he can help make
executive decisions." Horovitz adds that Jordan's decision
"has some big-ticket sponsors from Nike to MCI WorldCom to
Rayovac nervously pacing on the sidelines," as some of those
companies "no longer fill Jordan's newest demand: control."
But Horovitz reports that while there will be "change" in
Jordan's role with Sara Lee, Gatorade and Rayovac, there
will be "no change" in his relationship with Nike and
"little change" with MCI WorldCom (USA TODAY, 3/23). Polk
told Scott Soshnick of BLOOMBERG NEWS that "it doesn't make
sense" for either Jordan or some of the companies for
"Jordan the executive to endorse the same products as Jordan
the athlete." Polk: "Some of the more traditional
endorsements, like Gatorade, are performance oriented. It
doesn't sit with the direction that he's going." But Polk
added, "Reports of Jordan's endorsement demise are greatly
exaggerated. He's just going through another stage." Polk
said that "rather than soft drinks," Jordan will now be
"more apt to lend his name to new media" (BLOOMBERG, 3/22).
Jordan's agent, SFX Sports Chair David Falk, told Heath &
Solomon of the WASHINGTON POST Jordan is "transitioning to a
new role in the world of business as an owner rather than an
employee. ... In this new role, Michael will be hiring
others to endorse products for him" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/23).
LIFE WITHOUT AIR: Gatorade spokesperson Andy Horrow
said the company has "known [Jordan's decision] was coming
for some time." But industry sources said that "other
companies, such as MCI Worldcom, were not aware of Jordan's
intentions before yesterday" (Eric Fisher, WASHINGTON TIMES,
3/23). Rayovac Dir of Marketing Services John Daggett said
that the company has an "archive of unused footage" of
Jordan that "can be tapped." Daggett: "We've got a nice
reel of things in the can that we can adapt." In addition,
Gatorade's Horrow said, "You're going to continue to see
Michael Jordan in [Gatorade] advertising this year, in new
ads that haven't broken yet" (REUTERS, 3/23).
REAX: In N.Y., Richard Wilner writes that "walking away
from the business while on top could cost" Jordan $250M over
the next decade (N.Y. POST, 3/23). FSN's Keith Olbermann,
on Jordan dropping endorsements: "In response, Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan announced the world economy
would collapse within the year. 'I give it six months,
tops,' he added" (FSN, 3/22). Jordan biographer David
Halberstam, on whether there will ever be another endorser
as "widely recognized" throughout the world: "Never is a
long time. But what Michael represented was the rare
confluence of a superior athlete who caught the public eye
with his athleticism, but who also had astonishing good
looks and tremendous personal charm" (STAR-LEDGER, 3/23).
