Sean Payton Jordan Brand deal: How $18,000,000 Broncos HC struck partnership with luxury brand

Denver Broncos will fans hope that Sean Payton can impart his coaching success to their beloved team. After all, he has won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and led them to nine playoff appearances. Before he arrived at New Orleans, the Saints made the playoffs only five times in over four decades.

Payton parlayed his success into other ventures, being an NFL analyst for Fox Sports. Even before his broadcasting career started, he was already extending his influence by signing with the Jordan brand. He was the first coach to ink a deal with the company headed by Nike and basketball legend Michael Jordan.

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Sean Payton’s struck deal with Jordan brand on a golf course

According to The Denver Post’s Ryan McFadden, Payton’s relationship with the Jordan brand started in 2020 when he was still coaching the New Orleans Saints. Michael Jordan considered signing Payton after seeing the coach wearing his sneakers during Saints games.

The six-time NBA champion invited Payton to his private golf course in Florida. The basketball icon/businessman said that Payton was always wearing Jordan 11s before pitching the idea of bringing him to the Jordan brand.

The Denver Post’s Ryan McFadden shared how Sean Payton became a part of the Jordan Brand. (Image credit: Ryan McFadden on Twitter)

McFadden added that Payton verbally agreed before signing the deal, making him the first coach to be a part of the sneaker brand. Coincidentally, Payton grew up in Chicago and played college football at Eastern Illinois, while Jordan became a luminary while playing with the Illinois-based Chicago Bulls.

Aside from Payton, NFL players Dak Prescott, Davante Adams, Jamal Adams, and Stefon Diggs are signed under the Jordan brand.

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Sean Payton is proud of his Jordan sneaker collection

All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II shared with McFadden:

“(Payton) brags about it a little bit, (saying) ‘You haven’t seen these in stores yet. Every day he’s showing off new shoes.'"He was telling me the scoop about Jordan and how they treat him. He was like once you join Jordan, it’s a brotherhood from here on. But I’m with Nike right now, so we will see how things go.”

He now has hundreds of Jordan shoes he shares with his son, as they are the same size. Likewise, he can’t wear all pairs, given their volume.

McFadden also revealed that Sean Payton will wear Jordan sneakers in Denver Broncos colors this year. It’s an exclusive pair that won’t be sold in public. Before coaching an official NFL game for the Broncos, Payton showcased some of his Jordan pairs when he attended the Nuggets' playoff games.