“The Last Dance” documentary, highlighting NBA legend Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, has given fans access to previously untold stories and unseen footage. Fans are seeing Jordan in a way they haven’t before, with the 57-year-old sitting down to relive iconic moments from his championship years. Jordan has been generally quiet since his second retirement, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t in high demand.
His agent David Falk went on WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio” Thursday and talked about the kinds of appearance opportunities and marketing deals Jordan has passed up on throughout his career. Falk said that the legend once turned down $100 million for a two-hour appearance, showing just how particular Jordan is with his time in the spotlight.
From the interview:
“I brought him a deal three years ago for $100 million. All he had to do was, other than giving his name and likeness, make a one two-hour appearance to announce the deal and he turned it down. God bless him. He’s been so successful, it gives him an opportunity to do whatever the hell he wants or not to do things he doesn’t want. I really admire that. He’s very, very selective in the things he wants to be involved in.”
This is not the only lucrative opportunity Jordan turned down. He also said no to $7 million to take part in a one-day golf tournament in Asia. When you are the GOAT, it’s clearly about more than just money. According to Forbes, Jordan’s net worth is $2.1 billion, so he isn’t exactly desperate for big pay days.
Falk addressed Jordan’s views on appearances while also touching on the theories that Jordan was secretly suspended from the NBA for 18 months, calling it a retirement instead.
“[Former NBA commissioner David] Stern comes on and basically says it’s complete hogwash that he suspended Michael for 18 months when he retired. At the end of the day, Michael was almost Teflon,” Falk said. “There’s very few things people criticized him for. The gambling thing was it. He loves to gamble. He’s an extremely competitive guy.”
He continued saying, “If he loses $150,000 playing golf, big freaking deal. If I told him tomorrow, ‘Hey, I’ve got an appearance for you for five minutes for $150,000,’ he’d laugh at me. If it was $1,500,000, he wouldn’t do it.”
Calling the theories “ridiculous” Falk explained, “So yes, he lost money in gambling and it sort of had a little bit of a black eye for five minutes. He apologized and the thing went away. But any of these Oliver Stone conspiracy theories that somehow it pushed him out of basketball were ridiculous.”
