Why Nike Is Desperate to Keep Michael Jordan’s Sponsorship Money Secret

Michael Jordan would like you to know just how powerful he remains as a product pitchman. Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, and the retired basketball star’s other corporate teammates would prefer you didn’t.

An unusual intersquad drama is unfolding this week in a Chicago federal courtroom as Jordan, now 52, tries to wrest a $10 million payment from Safeway for using his name without permission in a 2009 promotion by the company’s now defunct Dominick’s Finer Foods grocery store brand1439488373809. His argument: Every time the name “Michael Jordan” is used to market anything, it commands a hefty price. Jordan’s attorneys are trying to show just how much a typical company pays for the use of his name. His corporate sponsors, meanwhile, are fighting to keep his contracts sealed.