It's safe to say Michael Jordan's sneaker career would have been very different had he not inked an endorsement deal with Nike. According to some of the people behind the scenes when Jordan was first considering a sneaker deal, that almost happened.
In a new video from Bleacher Report, his old agent David Falk explains that Jordan wanted to stick with Converse, which he wore during college, and had to be persuaded by his parents to fly out to Oregon and visit Nike. Jordan was also considering signing with adidas at the time.
According to Falk, Converse's pitch involved putting Jordan on the level of famous endorsers like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, but that wasn't enough for Jordan's father. Falk says he urged the family to consider Nike, a then-fledgling company that could give Jordan much more.
Falk describes a grand pitch and an hours-long meeting with Nike co-founder Phil Knight that eventually persuaded Jordan.
Watch the video on the genesis of the Nike Air Jordan line above.
