Supermarket chain fined $8.9 million for using Jordan's name
A supermarket chain Dominick's was made to pay $8.9 million to Michael Jordan for using his name for product promotion in an ad without his permission. Dominick's lawyers argued that Jordan should be "paid $126,900 for the use of his name in the 2009 ad". However, sports economist Andrew Zimbalist had been called in by Jordan's lawyers who pegged Jordan's market-value at $10 million.
Michael Jordan is an American former professional basketball player born on 17 February 1963. Jordan has played 15 seasons in the NBA for the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls. His leaping ability to do slam dunks gave him the title of 'Air Jordon'. He has won 5 MVP awards, 10 All-NBA 1st team designations and nine all-defensive First Team honors to name a few.
Jordan's relationship with brand Gatorade is more than 23 years old and at the time of signing, he was offered a $1.4 million a year deal. Jordan's manager dictated a seven figure deal sealed in a ten year contract which set the precedence for many of Jordan's later deals. The deal was sealed with the ever popular ad campaign "Be like Mike".
In 2014, Michael Jordon increased his stake in Charlotte Hornets, the American professional basketball team from 80% to 89.5%. Jordan had invested in the Hornets (previously known Bobcats) in 2006. In 2010, he became the controlling owner, buying out Robert Johnson for $175 million. Currently, the Hornets are worth between $600-650 million, and could provide with a net worth of $1 billion.
After Nike, Michael Jordan's biggest deals are with Upper Deck, Hanes and XEL. Jordan was paid $14 million by Upper Deck to become the company's spokesman from 2000 to 2012. Other than that Jordan earned another $14 million from Hanes and $10.6 million from the fragrance company XEL. Additionally, Jordan has earned $93.7 million from basketball earnings.
Besides basketball earnings and manifold deals adding to his income Jordan also owns a couple of restaurants; Michael Jordan Steakhouses are in New York, Connecticut, and Chicago.
Michael Jordan is world famed for his association with Nike's Air Jordan 1. However, it was recently disclosed that "Nike has paid Jordan $480 million between 2000 and 2012", as reported by Kim Jannsen of the Chicago Tribune. This information was disclosed during the Safeway lawsuit, when Dominick's- a subsidiary of Safeway used Jordan's name in an ad to adjudge his worth.
Michael Jordan had sued Qiaodan Sportswear Co. for using the trademark of his name, as well as other similar trademarks relating to his persona in 2012. However, he lost the lawsuit in Beijing High People's Court on 29 July 2015.
Speaking after the verdict Jordan said "I'm pleased with today's verdict," Jordan said in a statement. "No one -- whether or not they're a public figure -- should have to worry about their identity being used without their permission."
