It’s hard to believe, but it’s actually been 23 years since Michael Jordan left the game of basketball… forever. But just because he wasn’t playing the sport anymore, it didn’t mean he wasn’t the face of the game anymore. And even though he now has his fingers in other industries, including fashion, NASCAR, the retired NBA legend is still making most of his money from basketball, more specifically, his Air Jordan deal with Nike. Still, nobody would have guessed that he would still be the highest-paid athlete in 2026.
A brand new report by Sportico reveals the stats, a long list that includes names like Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, David Beckham and even Floyd Mayweather. But at the top is Michael Jordan, whose lifetime earnings are $3.28 billion.
And, as sneakerheads know, it’s all thanks to Nike’s Jordan Brand. In 2025, Michael Jordan apparently made $250 million from sneaker sales. The brand made $7.3 billion in revenue during Nike’s fiscal year ending May 2025. So paying him that $250 million is but a small percentage of their earnings. But it’s also 70 times more than any other signature sneaker line in 2026.
What’s crazy is that when Nike signed Jordan in 1984, Adidas and Coverse were far bigger, thanks to their collabs with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius Erving. At the time, Nike took a huge gamble signing Jordan to a five-year deal worth $500,000 a year, plus a cut of sales. In just 12 months, Nike’s Air Jordan 1 brought in over $100 million. So it was a win-win for everyone. And, as many believe, the birth of sneaker culture as we know it today.
In 2026, Michael Jordan’s Jordan sneaker line continues to sell out in stores within seconds of dropping. And even when there were reports that sneaker culture was dying, Jordan Brand dropped more achived releases to win back the fanbase.
Other NBA stars are still chasing that level. LeBron James sits at $1.62 billion in career earnings, Stephen Curry just cracked the top 20, and even the late Kobe Bryant ranks at 17 with $755 million.
Jordan also has stakes in plenty of other brands like NASCAR, Cincoro Tequila, DraftKings and Sportradar. But it all comes back to the sneakers. That’s how he still makes most of his money. It’s the reason why Michael Jordan remains the richest athlete of all time. That 1984 deal between Michael Jordan and Nike (thanks to his mom’s advice at the time) still pays out. Thanks, Deloris Jordan!
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