During a recent podcast, longtime sneaker industry insider Sonny Vaccaro credited himself for delivering Michael Jordan to Nike in 1984, even calling Jordan delusional for crediting Nike co-founder Phil Knight exec George Raveling. In response to Vaccaro's claims, Jordan's agent David Falk recently spoke to ESPN to set the record straight.
"Michael Jordan is the one who most deserves credit for signing with Nike," said Falk, Jordan's representative in contract and marketing negotiations. "I didn't do the deal with Sonny," Falk said. "I did the deal with Phil Knight and [marketing head] Rob Strasser."
Falk further downplayed Vacarro's influence on Nike's decision to sign Jordan by calling it a no-brainer.
"It also wasn't that revolutionary for Sonny to tell Nike to sign Michael," Falk said. "He was the national player of the year. It wasn't like he was some sleeper."
Perhaps the most fascinating tidbit from the interview is the revelation of which company offered the most money to Jordan — and no, it wasn't Nike. According to Falk, relatively unknown company Spot-Bilt submitted the highest offer, exceeding Nike's winning bid of $500,000 annually. Spot-Bilt, best known for creative O.J. Simpson signature cleats and a basketball model for Xavier McDaniel, was ran by the same manufacturing company that made Saucony runners. Falk added that Converse offered Jordan $100,000 and that adidas had "almost no interest."
Read Darren Rovell's full interview with Falk at ESPN.com.
