The Legacy of Air Jordans free essay sample

With Jordan’s likable personality, charisma, and heart, they noticed something special in him. Therefore, they offered him a 5-year contract worth 2. 5 million dollars that he could not refuse. Michael Jordan was then officially signed to Nike, and this began the rise of the Air Jordan trademark. ? With the appearance of his first shoe in 1985, his rookie year, the bold design of the first Air Jordans instantly stirred controversy. Even Jordan himself was skeptical about sporting the shoe. He said, â€Å"I can’t wear that shoe, those are devil colors. The original Air Jordan I’s were vividly black and red unlike any other basketball shoe at that time. Before, all basketball shoes were just plain white, and apparently, the Air Jordan I’s daring color design did not conform to the NBA’s uniform color scheme, which caused the NBA commissioner, David Stern, to prohibit Michael Jordan to continue to play in these shoes. We will write a custom essay sample on The Legacy of Air Jordans or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thus, in just three games into Jordan’s rookie year, the NBA ultimately banned the shoe. However, Nike was actually thrilled rather than disappointed, because they realized that what was happening was more than just a controversy. But in fact, it helped put Nike on the map. With its increasing publicity, Nike told Jordan to keep wearing them in his games. The NBA began fining him $1000 each game. Because he never stopped wearing them, they raised it to $3000 and then, finally peaked to $5000. Nike didn’t mind paying each fine as they got it all back, plus millions more, from endorsements. As a result, the controversial ban, at the same time, was making these shoes popular. Other than that, the Air Jordan I’s paved the way for multicolored basketball shoes and was proclaimed â€Å"the shoe that started it all. ? After the Air Jordan I, no other Jordan shoe featured the Nike name or swoosh logo. The original logo of Air Jordan was a basketball with wings that was featured on the first and second Air Jordan shoes. But, it was when Jordan won the 1987 slam dunk contest, Nike introduced the infamous Jumpman logo in the release of the Air Jordan III that eventually replaced the basketball with wings s ince. The Jumpman logo is a figure of Jordan attempting his historic free-throw line dunk that he performed at the slam dunk contest. Prior to the evolution of the logo, the Air Jordan team faced a crucial crossroads. The release of the Air Jordan II did not get as much recognition as its former top seller in the Air Jordan I. As well, the primary designers of the shoes, Peter Moore and Rob Strasser, were let go by Nike. Moore and Strasser were pursing their own business and offered Jordan to join the dynamic duo. Before Jordan could make an irrational decision, Jordan’s father influenced him to stick with the people who gave him this opportunity in the first place. Therefore, Jordan decided to stand by Nike. It was then, Nike reached out to famous designer, Tinker Hatfield and the Air Jordan line took off from there. Hatfield came up with a whole new approach and wanted to get Jordan more involved. Jordan was modeled as just a spokesperson for Nike and was never asked for his opinion. With the impending release of the Air Jordan III, Jordan became more hands on and made his first attempt as a designer. Jordan came up with the idea to make this third shoe the first mid top shoe in the line. In addition, he wanted it to be lightweight and durable to enhance performance. Working together, Hatfield and Jordan both decided to add in an elephant print to the shoe for a stylish feel. After all the hard work from Hatfield and Jordan, they finalized the shoe with the first appearance of the Jumpman logo flaunting on the back of the shoe. This decisive moment struck gold, and the Air Jordan III flew off the charts selling for $100 a pair. From that point on, Hatfield became the main designer of all Air Jordans up until Air Jordan XV, the year of Jordan’s second retirement. Hatfield and Jordan decided to pass the torch to other designers, giving them the responsibility of the Air Jordan line. Then, in 1997, because Air Jordans got so big, Nike created a self-titled sub-brand that featured only the Air Jordan brand. Although the fame of Air Jordan shoes rapidly took off like wildfire, Nike believed that without Jordan’s impressive performances on the court, the Air Jordan era wouldn’t have gotten as big as it has throughout the years. As Nike took notice from the start, Jordan possessed a rare talent. His unbelievable athletic abilities and basketball IQ racked up historic statistics throughout his career. In his first year of the NBA, he started out with a bang by winning the Rookie of the Year award and already making it to the All-Star game, which brings the most talented players in the NBA together. In his fourth year, he released the Air Jordan III that represented the breakthrough of his career. Jordan’s shoe line blew up as well with his game. That same year he was named Season MVP, All-Star MVP, Slam Dunk Champion, All-NBA First Team, All-Defensive First Team and Defensive Player of the Year, and showed the world that he was an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. He gave miraculous performances that can only be possibly done by the best of all time; playing through the flu, leading the Chicago Bulls to six championships and hitting the last second shot of the renowned 1998 NBA Finals to win it all. With his legendary status representing a self-titled brand, he transformed how athletic shoes and apparel were advertised ever since. Ever since Jordan teamed up with Nike, shoe endorsements have dramatically become popular amongst the most talented athletes, not only in basketball, but in all sports. Nike invested in a single athlete that was considered the next superstar and formed a shoe line that revolutionized the relationship between marketing brands and sports figures forever. This objective made Nike one of the leaders in basketball shoes today, mostly due to the major success of Air Jordans. Air Jordans have consistently been one of the top selling basketball shoes in the world since its establishment. Now, this same concept is considered the norm in the sports industry. Almost all superstar athletes have an endorsement deal because of Michael Jordan.