THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MICHAEL JORDAN
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan is the most "powerful"celebrity on the planet," according to a ranking by Forbes magazine on March 22, 1998. Those making the Forbes Celebrity 100 list were awarded a "power ranking" that measures 1998 income and media buzz - a blend of prominence on the Internet, magazine covers, on television and radio and in newspaper clips - that can also be a measure of future earnings power (Celebrity power..., 1998, 104). Thus,
While comedian Jerry Seinfeld made the most money last year ($267 million) and teen heartthrob actor Leonardo DiCaprio appeared on the most magazine covers (14), it was Jordan who cashed in big time on his name recognition and turned his on-court prowess into $40 million in endorsement income. Jordan also registered more than 40,000 press clips. Only baseball slugger Mark McGwire (No. 23) topped it with 47,377, including 777 Web mentions, 492 TV and radio mentions and seven magazine covers (Celebrity power..., 1998, 104).
A French news agency in that same year reported that Michael Jordan has had an impact valued at more than 10 billion dollars on the US economy since he joined the National Basketball Association in 1984 (Jordan tops..., 1998).
Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 and is the most famous basketball player in America. Until his retirement, he played for the Chicago Bulls and was known for his slam dunk. He spent his college career at North Carolina, playing for an NCAA Championship team as a freshman and hitting the game winning shot in the title game (Thomas, 1996, 1C). He was named College Player of the Year by the Sporting News in 1983 and 1984 and won the Naismith and Wooden Award in 1984. Jordan burst into the big time with a fabulous first season, earning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1984-85 after averaging 28.2 points per game. In the 1985-86 post season he poured in an astounding 43.7 poi...