When Nike star Michael Jordan accepted his gold medal on the podium at the 1992 Olympic Games, he was wearing the logo of his sponsor’s biggest rival: Reebok.
Michael Jordan collaborated with many companies during his years of success, but the man described by the NBA as “the greatest basketball player of all time” is closely associated with only one company: Nike.
The two have formed a marketing symbiosis for nearly four decades. Since signing Jordan, Nike’s market capitalization has risen from around $300 million to more than $160 billion today. The deal has also made Jordan a billionaire; in 2022 alone, he earned $256 million through his partnership.
And perhaps no “item” better illustrates the basketball legend’s appreciation for the company that gave him a chance as a third-round draft pick and made him so wealthy than the jacket that Jordan wore at the end of the Dream Team’s remarkable championship run at the 1992 Olympics—a jacket that is currently up for auction at Sotheby’s.
The relationship between Nike and Jordan dates back to 1984, when the NBA rookie signed with the Portland, Oregon-based shoe brand and, thanks to his college success, received a (for the time) staggering five-year, $2.5 million endorsement deal.
This partnership was recently fictionalized in the movie *Air*, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
As a result, Jordan not only got the shoes that would elevate him above his teammates and rivals in thousands of dunks, but Nike also transformed from a running shoe manufacturer into a cultural force that became ubiquitous in the worlds of fashion and sports.
In 1992, Jordan was at the peak of his abilities as a player when he and the rest of the Dream Team—a squad of NBA stars commissioned by the United States to put the rest of the world in its place at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona —impressing and thrilling audiences around the world as they dominated the court.
Alongside Jordan, the team included incomparable talents such as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Charles Barkley. They defeated every opponent, winning every game by an average of 44 points and thereby boosting the popularity of basketball around the world.
At the medal ceremony, however, Jordan found himself in a predicament: The U.S. Olympic Committee told him he had to accept his gold medal while wearing a jacket emblazoned with the logo of Nike’s rival, Reebok—a brand that had been battling the Swoosh for supremacy in the athletic shoe market for years:
“They said if we didn’t wear our official tracksuits, we couldn’t accept our gold medals,” Jordan said at the time, as seen in the ESPN documentary *The Last Dance* (streaming on Netflix).
He was also told that the U.S. committee would find a way to hide the logo, but Jordan didn’t want to leave the matter to others: “They can’t hide it the way I’m going to hide it.”
To avoid being seen with the Reebok logo, Jordan took a cue from American politicians and wrapped himself in the U.S. flag. Jordan pulled the stars and stripes over himself from front to back, thus covering up the logo of his sponsor’s rival.
After the medal ceremony, Jordan quickly took off the jacket and handed it to Brian McIntyre, a member of the NBA’s public relations staff who was assisting the Dream Team.
McIntyre tried to return the jacket to Jordan two years later, but the basketball legend—who was in the midst of his short-lived foray into baseball at the time—signed it with a personal dedication and gave it back.
“To Brian, thanks for everything,” is written on the left chest of the jacket, followed by the most famous autograph in the world of basketball.
This Reebok Dream Team jacket, worn by Michael Jordan, is currently up for auction at Sotheby’s. The current bid stands at $750,000, and the auction runs through June 29.
Update: The jacket was ultimately sold for $1.512 million.
Photos via Sotheby’s, Netflix (Andrew D. Bernstein, Brian Drake), IMAGO/WEREK
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