In Air, the comedy-drama recounting Nike‘s launch of the iconic Air Jordan basketball sneaker, director-producer-star Ben Affleck breathes new life into the now-famous story behind one of the most successful products of all time. Part of what makes the movie so compelling is the corporate hijinks that keep the audience on the edge of its seat despite already knowing the ending. Among the lessons for business owners from the film is how a single individual can rewrite the rules of an entire industry. The movie premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March and hits theaters on April 5.
While Nike’s normal strategy was to spend $250,000 across three endorsement deals with three separate NBA rookies, Vaccaro insisted on giving the full $250,000 to Jordan. He also came up with the idea to build a new shoe line around Jordan rather than simply use Jordan to amplify the Nike brand. Why? Vacarro saw the market potential of a generational talent like Jordan playing in the increasingly popular NBA. “Basketball is the future,” Vaccaro says. “I’m willing to bet my career on Michael Jordan.”
Courting players to sign endorsement deals by contacting them directly rather than going through their agents was so forbidden that Jordan’s agent David Falk (Chris Messina) made Vaccaro promise he wouldn’t call Jordan himself. That led Vaccaro to make the risky decision to show up at Jordan’s parents’ house in North Carolina and speak to his mother Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis) in person–an unorthodox and unprofessional move but one that ultimately convinced the Jordans to take a meeting with Nike. “I believe in your son,” Vaccaro says. “I believe he’s different, and I believe you might be the only person on earth who knows it.”
For Nike, signing Michael Jordan required agreeing to deal terms that were unprecedented in partnerships between brands and professional athletes. On top of the $250,000, the most significant offer Nike’s basketball division had ever made to any athlete, the company also agreed to give Jordan a percentage of revenue from the sale of each Air Jordan shoe. Despite being a reasonable request–Jordan’s name would appear on every shoe–it was unheard of for a company like Nike to offer an athlete a direct revenue share. Indeed, Knight could have been removed by Nike’s board just for approving the deal.
“We should do it,” Knight says to Vaccaro. “In this case, with who you think this kid is going to be, it will be the best thing that ever happened to this company and it will be worth every penny.” In its first year, Nike made $162 million off of the Air Jordan line, which today brings in $4 billion annually, generating $400 million in annual passive income for Jordan.
The first film produced by Affleck and Damon’s new production company, Artists Equity, Air thematically parallels what the co-founders are trying to do within the independent film business, Affleck said during a press conference for the movie in March. Artists Equity has pledged to share earnings from its movies in a more equitable way, distributing a percentage of profits to members of the cast and crew who historically have not shared in the upside of financially successful films.
“We’re trying to change things a little bit, which is a very difficult thing because we have a model that we’ve inherited in terms of how films are made,” Affleck said, adding that Nike’s deal with Jordan was a step in the right direction to create an equitable relationship between athletes and brands. “We’re trying to take a similar step, really because I think that’s how you get the best work.”
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