In 2015, Michael Jordan joined the college football industry by collaborating with the Michigan Wolverines on an apparel contract. The school had ended its prior shoe deal and welcomed the Jordan brand.
According to Sports Illustrated, Coach Jim Harbaugh’s son, Jay, affected the decision to consider Jordan during the coach’s efforts to revitalize the Michigan football program.
According to Sports Illustrated, “When we first took the job here, there was a shoe contract that was up,” Harbaugh stated. “There are plenty of decent shoes out there, etc. My son Jay came up with the idea. He says, ‘There’s no Jordan football school; it would be pretty fantastic.'”
Jordan and the school eventually agreed on a 15-year, $173.8 million agreement to make the Jordan Brand the school’s sole apparel sponsor. At the time, it was college football’s largest apparel agreement.
Furthermore, former Super Bowl MVP and Michigan alumni Desmond Howard claims that the Jordan Brand relationship gave the Michigan institution an advantage in recruiting extremely skilled students. This is because only a few collegiate athletes have the opportunity to wear special Jordan Brand clothes and shoes while on the field.
“I believe it all started when they (Michigan) signed with Jumpman because when they did that, it gave them credibility with a lot of recruits they wanted,” Howard said in an interview.
Jordan and his brand ambassadors, including rapper Travis Scott, celebrated Michigan’s 34-13 victory over Washington in the CFP National Championship, marking the school’s first national title since 1997, according to Sports Illustrated.