An added bonus in the deal was that Schmidt had promised that Jordan would be the exclusive spokesperson for the brand. Jordan would be paid $1 million a year for seven years, $2 million a year for two years, and $2.5 million for another year. Gatorade stepped up to the table, satisfying Falk's wishes with a ten-year deal worth $13.5 million. It offered a five- year deal at $750,000 per year. But that was the price to pay, the risk, for companies that wanted to continue or forge new relationships with Jordan, whose NBA championship the year before, 1991, made him complete.Ĭoca-Cola crumbled under the pressure. The contract would not include a right to terminate if Jordan walked off the basketball court. It wasn't likely that he would be in the league for 10 more years. 'And so he wanted to know without a bidding contest.'įalk had already told Schmidt what he expected, so he felt it was only fair to give Chuck Morrison, the head of ethnic marketing for Coca-Cola, the same parameters - 10 years, seven figures per year. 'Michael always had a desire to know what people thought he was worth, as opposed to what I was capable of getting for him,' Falk said. In a move that might have helped seal the deal for Gatorade, Jordan prohibited Falk from going back and forth. He thought his client was on that superstar level, and he knew that Coke had more cash than Quaker Oat's Gatorade brand. His sources told him that Whitney Houston was making $1.8 million and Elton John was being paid more than $2 million by Coke. Written on a cocktail napkin was, '10 years, seven figures per year.' Falk was prepared for a bidding war. When Schmidt left Falk that night, he was well aware of what it would take to get Jordan. He knew that his client was reaching iconic status like the Golden Bear. But Falk had just finished reading a story on golfer Jack Nicklaus's marketing deals, most of which were 10-year deals.

Schmidt said that he would be willing to commit to Jordan for five years. At a bar, the two started throwing out numbers for securing Jordan's endorsement for Gatorade. In February 1991, Bill Schmidt, director of sports marketing for Gatorade, and Michael Jordan's agent, David Falk, met in Charlotte, North Carolina, the location of the NBA All-Star Game that year.

This is the history of the famous Gatorade 'BE LIKE MIKE' campaign. After 25,000 views on the site I thought it would be a good time to bring back one of our posts from last year.Īlot of the younger people that LIKE MIKE might not remember where the 'BE LIKE MIKE' slogan came from.īeing 'LIKE MIKE' is the inspiration for LIKE MIKE CLOTHING.

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