Michael Jordan has been out of the NBA as a player since his retirement from the Washington Wizards in 2003. Yet by at least one measure, it is like the six-time champion never left.
Annual sales of Jordan products on eBay EBAY -0.83% were $175 million over the past 12-months fueled by Nike’s Air Jordan line. LeBron James is the second best-selling athlete on the online auction site with $42 million worth of goods sold, followed by Kobe Bryant in third at $25.5 million, according to Terapeak, which is the leading analytics provider for eBay. NBA players outpace stars in other sports partly due to sales of their signature shoe lines.
How does MJ stake up in the world outside of sports? For comparison, the annual Apple iPad market is $198 million on eBay, while the markets for Apple MacBooks/laptops ($160 million) and Apple iPods ($66 million) are both smaller. “That a single person’s name drives sales at this level suggests a very strong brand,” says Terapeak consultant Aron Hsiao.
Terapeak took a deeper look for Forbes at Jordan sales on eBay in the 90 days from early August to the end of October. There were more than 300,000 Jordan items purchased at an average price of $124 for total sales of $39.5 million. Air Jordans made up just over half the listings with 161,623 pairs sold at an average price of $185. Sellers labeled 59% of Air Jordans in “new” condition, as the shoes never leave the box for many collectors. Sales of James’ Nike signature shoes racked up $6.7 million of sales on eBay over the same three months.
Jordan’s non-shoe business was $9.7 million on eBay between August and October or almost six times the sales of James’ merchandise. More than 150,000 non-shoe MJ items sold at an average price of $62 with trading cards the dominant item. Prices can reach much, much higher for the rarest items. A 1986 autographed Fleer rookie card sold for $40,000 and 10 cards in total sold for at least $11,500 over the three months on eBay. The sale of a game-worn jersey/shorts combo from Jordan’s final season with the Bulls hit $35,000, while game-worn shoes from the 1995-96 season fetched $15,000.
The Jordan Brand is one of the strongest in sports and generates $2 billion in annual revenue for its parent Nike. Jordan’s market share in basketball shoes is north of 50%, and MJ’s annual royalty checks from Nike made him the highest-paid retired athlete in the world with earnings of $90 million last year. Years of rich endorsement deals plus soaring valuations of NBA franchises—Jordan owns 90% of the Charlotte Hornets—led Forbes to tab Jordan as a billionaire in June.
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