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One of LA Laker's most iconic players of all time, Earvin Magic Johnson, refused a deal with Nike, according to episode six of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers dynasty.
This Sunday's episode, which aired on April 10, 2022, at 9 pm on HBO, revealed that the dilemma fell upon the five-time NBA championship winner in the 1980s. The storyline also depicts how one of the most sought-after players had deals pouring in from many brands, including Converse, which he eventually chose over Nike's offer.
Story of Magic Johnson and Nike explored
The series' sixth episode revealed the details of Magic Johnson's rapid rise to fame in the early days of his NBA career. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty explored Magic's importance for the Lakers when he was hailed as one of the greatest point guards in the game.
Nike wasn't a well-established company at the time - it was an up-and-coming brand, so when founder Phil Knight approached Johnson, he wasn't able to accept the deal.
The footwear company was established in 1964 and offered Johnson a dollar for every shoe sold by the company as well 100,000 stock options. While Converse, Adidas, and Puma were ready to spend big bucks for the NBA player's signature, Nike gave him stock options with not much money to offer.
Ultimately, Magic turned down the offer and instead chose Converse to sign a deal that would earn him roughly $100,000 a year. Johnson also revealed a few details on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and confirmed that at the time he wasn't aware of how stocks work, thus turning down Knight's offer.
He chose to sign a deal with Converse instead, as his childhood idol Dr. J (Julius Erving) was spotted wearing a pair of Converses during his playing career.
Unfortunately for Magic, Nike's value has skyrocketed since then and has a value of more than $219 billion USD.
However, during the time he was offered the partnership, the cost was only of $0.18 USD per share. If Magic had accepted the offer, the deal would have earned him more $5 billion and given him an undisputed reputation.
On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Magic Johnson stated that he regrets the decision of not signing with Nike:
“I’m still kicking myself. Every time I’m in a Nike Store, I get mad. I could have been making money off of everybody buying Nikes right now."
Despite the unfortunate decision, Magic is doing very well financially and has a net worth of $600 million through his company Magic Johnson Enterprises.
Nike later signed a deal with Michael Jordan, and history shows that their highly coveted collaborative shoe collection, Air Jordans, is doing particularly well and is one of the most popular shoe collections in the world.
