FORTUNE Calculates Michael Jordan's Impact on Economy; Estimates 'The Jordan Effect' at $10 Billion - and Counting

    NEW YORK, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Everyone knows that the world's greatest
 basketball player is also one of its most recognizable brands, but for the
 first time, FORTUNE has calculated the economic impact that Michael Jordan has
 had since joining the NBA in 1984.  "Beyond his own vast (and growing)
 personal fortune, if you add up all the Jordan-influenced business -- the
 sneaker and apparel sales, the higher television ratings, the increased game
 attendance, the endorsement value, the videos, the cologne, and the rest of it
 -- what is his overall impact?," FORTUNE editor at large Roy S. Johnson writes
 in the June 22 issue.  The magazine's estimate: more than $10 billion.
     FORTUNE primarily examined several key entities affected most directly by
 Jordan: the NBA, Nike, and "branded" products and companies whose products
 Jordan endorses.  The magazine used several methodologies for its
 calculations, including some created by economists Jerry A. Hausman of MIT and
 Gregory K. Leonard of the consulting firm Cambridge Economics.  Their findings
 on the economic value of several NBA superstars to the NBA during the 1991-92
 season were reported last year in the Journal of Labor Economics.
     The branded products category included cologne, underwear, the myriad
 sports videos and books produced and written about Jordan, and the revenue
 from the movie Space Jam, starring Jordan.  Total estimate: $701 million.
 Using some of the Hausman-Leonard techniques, FORTUNE calculated Jordan's
 impact on NBA attendance to be $165 million, and on the league's television
 revenues as $366 million.  Using other methods, the magazine estimated
 Jordan's impact on the growth of the NBA's licensed products ("official" caps,
 shirts, jerseys, etc.), at $3.1 billion.
     As hard as it may be to calculate Jordan's overall impact on Nike (a
 former company executive describes him as the embodiment of Nike's image, and
 what, FORTUNE asks, is that worth?), the magazine estimates it at
 $5.2 billion, including $2.6 billion in the still-popular Air Jordan sneakers
 and other Jordan-related Nike products.  FORTUNE estimates the Jordan Effect
 on the companies whose products he endorses at $408 million.  Finally, the
 magazine adds another $50 million, roughly half the price of F.A.M.E., Jordan
 agent David Falk's agency, which recently sold for about $100 million,
 bringing the total estimated Jordan Effect to more than $10 billion.
     As for Jordan, he says he's at a stage of his life where he's ready to
 pare down some of his business obligations.  "When people come to me with
 deals now, I've got no problem saying no," he tells Johnson.  "I've got enough
 on my plate.  I'm not greedy."
 
 

SOURCE  FORTUNE Magazine