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Before Rich Paul became the most powerful agent in the NBA, there was David Falk, who represented Michael Jordan for his entire career. Falk was the first super agent of the league, representing as many as 40 NBA players during his peak in the 1990s.
The New York native entered the sports world as part of Donald Dell's ProServ in 1974. He first represented tennis players before taking in No. 1 picks John Lucas in 1976 and Mark Aguirre in 1981. He made history in 1982 when he brokered the first million-dollar NBA shoe deal for James Worthy.
ProServ then signed Michael Jordan in 1984, and the rest is history. Jordan turned into the greatest basketball player ever and won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He turned basketball into a global sport and became a pop culture icon due to his deal with Nike.
David Falk was involved in Nike's initial deal with Michael Jordan. The contract was worth $500,000 and royalties. It was a historic deal in terms of royalties, but it was a gamble for both parties. Nike wasn't a giant shoe company then, and Jordan was just starting his NBA career.
It paid off, though, as Jordan's shoes broke records and made Nike into what it is today. The company thought they were lucky to get at least $3 million in profit in the first year of MJ's deal. They reportedly earned upwards of $130 million in 1985.
Falk also helped market Jordan as a brand and helped him get sponsorship deals with many companies like Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Wilson Sporting Goods, Wheaties and Hanes.
Other NBA legends Falk represented include Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Mitch Richmond and Dominique Wilkins.
David Falk coined the term 'Air Jordan' for Michael Jordan's Nike campaign
'Air Jordan' is one of the biggest shoe brands in the world today. It's the fruit of Michael Jordan's partnership with Nike that started in 1984.
In an interview with the Action Network in April 2020, David Falk shared the story of how he came up with "Air Jordan" and pitched it to Nike during a meeting.
"So (Rob) Strasser says to me, 'We might consider giving him his own line of shoes and clothes. What do you want to call the line?'" Falk said. "I looked at him like he was brain dead and said, 'What do I want to call the line? I want to call it Michael Jordan.' He felt that Michael had no credibility as a 21-year-old basketball player to suggest he was the designer of his own line.
"He said, 'Look we may be willing to do it, but you have to come up with a name and it cannot be Michael Jordan.' I literally wanted to strangle him. I mean, I was so frustrated. It literally came to me in probably less than a minute and I said, 'OK, we're going to call it Air Jordan.'"
