New on Sports Illustrated: Michael Jordan Once Said No to a Two-Hour Appearance for $100 Million

MJ’s agent says he once landed a deal worth $100 million if Jordan would appear for two hours. Jordan said no.

$100 million? No thanks. 

Michael Jordan is far and away the richest athlete in the United States. Though he earned about $90 million in his basketball career,

he’s worth roughly $2 billion now, thanks to his various business dealings. You don’t get that rich by taking every deal that’s presented to you, and, when you’ve got that much money, somebody has to make it really worth your while if they’re offering to pay you for something. 

Jordan’s agent, David Falk, joined WFAN’s Boomer & Gio with Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti and shared a couple of stories about just how tough it is to get Jordan to agree to an endorsement these days. 

When MJ was in Asia a few years ago for a Hornets preseason game, a woman from the Philippines offered $7 million to have Jordan appear for the day at a golf event, Falk said. Jordan, who we all know loves golf, said no. 

But that’s nothing compared to another offer Falk says Jordan rejected. The company asked for two hours of Jordan’s time, plus the right to use his name and likeness. In exchange, Jordan would get $100 million. He turned them down. 

“I brought him a deal three years ago for $100 million,” Falk said. “All he had to do was, other than giving his name and likeness, make 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.”

$100 million is more money than any normal person could even imagine, but Jordan is no normal person. We don’t know what kind of company he was supposed to be pitching. He could have been the face of those Frank Thomas male enhancement pills, or something similarly embarrassing. You can’t be putting your face on just any product when your Michael freaking Jordan. The nice part is that being Michael freaking Jordan grants you the luxury of turning down $100 million. 

The best of SI

The Bulls’ ’90s benchwarmers share their stories of being part of the dynasty. ... What would a Warriors version of The Last Dance look like? ... Members of Congress aren’t impressed with what the NCAA had to say about athlete compensation.

Around the sports world

A couple of Michigan football players from Columbus were working out on the campus of Ohio State and the Buckeyes aren’t pleased. ... If the current NHL season doesn’t end until late this summer, Gary Bettman is open to starting next season as late as December. ... The NFL could play games on Saturdays if college football season gets canceled. ... CeeDee Lamb wanted to wear No. 10 but the Cowboys gave him 88, previously worn by Dez Bryant and Michael Irvin.

Gracious response from Dez

Just call it Space Jam 2!

Insane hand-eye coordination

The scoreboard in the new Los Angeles stadium is crazy

Short feature on Woj

How a WWE wrestler stays in shape...

Not sports

J. Crew is reportedly planning to file for bankruptcy. ... A scammer bought a whole restaurant with a fake $400,000 check. ... A chunk of the moon, the fifth-largest lunar meteorite, is up for auction.

I still don’t know what it’s supposed to be after watching the whole thing

If this came out tomorrow I’d spend the rest of lockdown playing it

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.