MJ refused to extort money from a brand he no longer used.

Michael Jordan’s stance on endorsing products was admirable from the start. Having attained unprecedented fame after his Air Jordan brand became a cultural hit, Mike understood the responsibility of being a role model. Unlike most players who would jump at any endorsement opportunity, the Chicago Bulls superstar had a different approach.

A man of his word
In an interview with Playboy in 1992, Michael explained why he would never endorse any brand or product for money. This was MJ’s way of ensuring that his image would never be tarnished by any insincere deal.

“If I endorse McDonald’s, I go to McDonald’s. If I endorse Wheaties, I eat Wheaties. If I endorse Gatorade, I drink Gatorade,” Jordan said, as quoted by SportsCasting. “I have cases of Gatorade; I love drinking Gatorade. I don’t endorse anything that I don’t actually use.”

To prove he’s a man of his word, Mike told the story about ending his long-standing contract with Johnson Hair Products after he started going bald—he refused to extort money from a brand that made no sense in associating with him.

“If I wanted to be a hard-nosed businessman, I could have been in a lot of deals, like the one with Johnson Products,” MJ added. “I had a deal with them for their hair-care products. I had two or three more years on that deal when I started losing my hair. So, I forfeited the deal. But if I had wanted to be greedy, I could’ve said, ‘Screw you, you didn’t know my hair was falling out, so you owe me money.’ But I didn’t.”
MJ’s careful brand building
Deemed as a generational basketball talent, Jordan didn’t just focus on boosting his legacy on the court. Unspursingly, he was equally methodical, paying attention to every little detail that could hurt his brand away from basketball arenas.

For instance, when he was approached to endorse a product called Beanee Weenees, Mike declined the company’s $1 million offer simply because he didn’t like its name.

“You ever heard of Beanee Weenees pork and beans? It was close to a million bucks a year,” Jordan said. “I’m saying, Beanee Weenees? How can I stand in front of a camera and say I’ll eat Beanee Weenees?”

Michael’s net worth today is estimated at $3.2 billion, making him the richest NBA player ever. However, that wouldn’t have been possible if Jordan hadn’t thought twice about every business decision he’s ever made.

Leaving million-dollar deals may have seemed crazy at the time. Long-term-wise, however, it did wonders for the Bulls legend.