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On Friday, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge announced his new deal to sign with Michael Jordan's Jumpman brand. He did so by recreating Jordan's famous '6 Rings' portrait.
Jordan's '6 Rings' portrait is one of the most iconic sports photos of all time, taken after he won his sixth NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1998.
Judge similarly sat with his hand on his face, rocking a giant ring on his finger, but crucially he did not have a championship ring on his finger. Instead, he had a giant Jordan brand ring.
Given the way the Bronx Bombers have looked this season, that Jordan ring will have to hold him over for a bit longer. They have a 60-61 record, putting them at the basement of the American League East table.
Judge has notably yet to capture a championship, making this decision one that was heavily questioned online. Naturally, people flocked to social media to poke fun at how bad of an idea this was:
"I really don't like this. I know it's a photoshoot and they thought it was a good idea. It was out of Judge's control. With that said, if he doesn't have a ring by the end of his career, this will forever be a meme and be clowned on" one fan posted.
"How did someone with a brain ok this" another fan posted.
Judge joins the Jordan brand after being previously sponsored by Adidas. He joins MLB players like Mookie Betts, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Manny Machado, Derek Jeter and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the Jumpman side.
Michael Jordan is starting to sign some elite baseball players to his brand after signing Aaron Judge
It is no secret Michael Jordan has always loved baseball. It is the reason he signed Derek Jeter to the Jumpman brand back in 1999.
Jeter was the first baseball player to sign with the brand at the time. Now, with Aaron Judge signed on, the brand is full of franchise players and major baseball stars.
Judge is coming off an MVP season where he broke the American League single-season home run record. While injuries have slowed him and the New York Yankees down this season, adding Judge is a huge pull for the Jumpman brand.
