Westbrook, Jordan, and Sneaker Wars: Nobody’s Bigger than the Jumpman

Michael Jordan is the most successful athlete ever in the sneaker world. What he has accomplished is unprecedented. The brand is still bringing in around 100$ million per year for M.J. almost 20 years after his last game with the Chicago Bulls.

While the Jordan Brand has brought M.J. himself great personal success, their athletes are often overshadowed.

There are the big problems with the Jordan Brand.

First, is Nike.

Nike owns the Jordan brand. The issue with this is there is no competition. They clearly have little interest in developing and prompting athletes on the Jordan brand as individuals.

On Nike side, they sell shoes based on the popularity and marketing of the individual athlete. As a result, they get more unique shoes made, have a variety of branding concepts, and bolster each athletes’ profile in the media.

This doesn’t happen on the Jordan Brand. The athletes there all are no bigger than M.J. himself. They are all pushed as extensions of Jordan and what his brand represents, instead of their own individual brand.

This causes many of their athletes to get lost in the shuffle. When you consider the names on the Jordan Brand roster, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Blake Griffin, it is surprising how they never utilize their individual brand potential.

Second, since the Jordan Brand is under Nike their athletes don’t get paid as much. 3 out of the top 6 NBA players sneaker earnings per year come from Nike athletes. The other three are James Harden (Adidas), Steph Curry (Under Armour), and Michael Jordan himself at number 1.

The Jordan brand has had only one athlete to really grab the reigns of the consumers.

Next: Part 3: Westbrook and Jordan