Magic Johnson’s $1 billion Nike regret still stings decades later
Article excerpt
Magic Johnson built a billionaire business empire after basketball, but one missed Nike deal from 1979 still stands out as the one that got away. The story is a throwback, not a fresh confession.
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Magic Johnson built a billionaire business empire after basketball, but one missed Nike deal from 1979 still stands out as the one that got away.
The story is a throwback, not a fresh confession. It has resurfaced because the numbers still feel almost impossible., rewrite this line, i don’t want it to sound like you’re answering a question
Johnson became one of the smartest athlete-investors in American sports, which makes the early mistake even more fascinating.
Photo by Luiza Moraes/Getty Images
Magic Johnson Nike stock regret resurfaces in viral throwback
A viral post shared Johnson’s old explanation of how Nike tried to sign him when he entered the NBA in 1979.
Johnson said: “Nike, when I was young, wanted to sign me, but give me stock. Phil Knight said, ‘I don’t have the money they have, but I got stock’”
Johnson chose guaranteed money from Converse instead. At the time, that made sense for a young player who did not grow up around stock, equity or long-term ownership language.
He later explained how painful that decision became once Nike exploded. Johnson said: “They ran the analytics. If I had did that deal in 1979, it’d be over a billion dollars. That’s the one that got away.”
Michael Jordan later became the athlete most closely tied to Nike’s basketball rise. His Air Jordan deal turned into the model for modern sneaker power, royalties and athlete branding.
Magic Johnson business empire softened the Nike miss
Johnson could have been forgiven for living off his Lakers fame, but that was never his style.
As a player, he was a 6ft 9in point guard who transformed the position, led the Showtime Lakers and won five NBA titles, three league MVP awards and three Finals MVP awards.
His second act has been just as important. Through Magic Johnson Enterprises, he built wealth through ownership, real estate, insurance, food, media and sports investments.
Forbes lists Johnson as a billionaire, with an estimated net worth around $1.6 billion. His sports portfolio has included stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, LAFC, Washington Commanders and Washington Spirit.
That is what makes the Nike regret so sharp. Johnson eventually mastered ownership, but the lesson arrived after he had already passed on one of the greatest equity plays in sports history.
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