Magic Johnson lived the basketball life perfectly. He was a Hall of Fame player, head coach, CEO, and above all, a very successful businessman.
When Johnson entered the NBA in 1979, he was courted by many of the major athletic shoe companies at the time. He ended up signing with Converse, but not before receiving other offers. One of those shows was from Nike. Here’s the story of what Nike offered Johnson and what Converse eventually pushed him to be a sponsor of his shoes.
Nike offer rejected by Magic Johnson
You have to remember that at the time Magic Johnson was entering the NBA as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Nike wasn’t the juggernaut it is today. It was still a startup shoe company trying to find a foothold. According to Inc., Nike founder Phil Knight made a generous offer to Johnson, the best he could make at the time. He was offered $100,000 in stock options.
He wanted the cash instead, but Johnson refused it. He later kicked himself over that decision. The stock options that Johnson rejected in 1979 would be worth $5.2 billion today. The funniest part of all? The company Johnson eventually signed, Converse, was later acquired by Nike. So, Jonathan ended up at Nike anyway…without billions of dollars in stock.
How much did Converse pay Magic Johnson to sign with them?
* { padding: 0; margin: 0; overflow: hidden} html, body {height: 100%} img, span {position: absolute; width: 100%; top: 0; bottom: 0; margin: auto} span { height: 1.5em; text alignment: center; font: 48px / 1.5 sans-serif; the color is white ; Text Shade: 0 0 0.5em black}
* { padding: 0; margin: 0; overflow: hidden} html, body {height: 100%} img, span {position: absolute; width: 100%; top: 0; bottom: 0; margin: auto} span { height: 1.5em; text alignment: center; font: 48px / 1.5 sans-serif; the color is white ; Text Shade: 0 0 0.5em black}
![><span>▶</span>” src =”https://www.youtube.com/embed/qeZWhorDb9g?feature=oembed” border frame =”0″ allow =”accelerometer auto on; clipboard writing. gyroscope encoded media; Pictures in Pictures” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</p>
</figure>
<p>In the late 1970s, Converse was the largest athletic shoe company in the NBA. They had famous clients like Julius “Dr. J “Irving. The company came to Magic Johnson and made it look a lot like the Nike deal. According to Yard Barker, it was a $100,000 bid. </p>
<p>The only difference? Converse was offering all the money for their deal. Johnson took the opportunity to make himself richer for the time being. He accepted the Converse show, despite the fact that he would later regret it. </p>
<p>Giving his reasons, Johnson stated, “You know, usually [you think] “I have to take this money!” Man, I was going to be a billionaire by now “. legend added, “Thinking about 1979, getting that stock back then, and what it’s worth today?”</p>
<p>The answer is that it will be worth several billions. However, this isn’t the only shoe deal that might leave Johnson in a quandary. The amount of money some current players are making makes Johnson’s Converse deal feel like tip money. </p>
<h2 id=](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qeZWhorDb9g/hqdefault.jpg)
What shoe companies do current NBA stars deal with?
Related