Michael Jordan may not be happy he isn’t getting a worthwhile share on his NASCAR investment, but he’s not exactly losing money. That Nike money keeps making him richer. Enough to make his net worth climb by $500 million in a year. He remains comfortable at $3.5 billion in the exclusive billionaire-athletes club. It’s not enough to make him climb up in the rankings of the Forbes 400, yet he’s not taking a major hit out of suing NASCAR.

Currently, Nike and Air Jordan occupy the top two shares of the global sneaker market respectively. For having his silhouette on the timeless Swoosh bestseller, MJ gets 5% of the estimated $20 billion sales Air Jordan brings. Sounds meager but that’s an effortless $330 million every year, which grows as sales increase.

Jordan doesn’t have to do much to earn half a billion every year. But while he debuted at 379th on the Forbes 400 list in 2023, he’s down to #385 in 2024. Understandably, as others like him get richer. And new billionaires are created too. Like the 6x champ’s longtime yachting buddy, Magic Johnson, a newly minted billionaire-athlete as of 2023. He’s not in the Forbes 400 yet, but maybe soon.

Despite the drop in rankings, Jordan diehards are in awe of the lasting impact His Airness has, 20 years since he retired from the NBA. For as long as his sneakers remain iconic within pop culture, he continues to make money. So he can afford to focus on other ventures without worrying about breaking the bank.

Michael Jordan gets personal with NASCAR

It’s rare for Michael Jordan to upend his relatively lowkey life with legal drama. But this situation must have been especially triggering. Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23Xi Racing and another team, Front Row Motorsports, filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court against NASCAR last week, a very shocking move by industry standards.

The issue is related to NASCAR’s ‘charter system’ of revenue sharing. The team owners accused the organization of operating under “anticompetitive and exclusionary practices” to “enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”

Jordan is going into this like he’s heading into a playoff series. “I wouldn’t have filed it if I didn’t think I could win,” he told The Athletic. Getting a comment out of MJ is even rarer. NASCAR may have made it very personal.

He’s not looking for a big chunk of revenue to climb up the Forbes 400 ranks. Jordan just never takes the short end of the stick. “We want a fair deal, but this wasn’t fair. I didn’t just file it for me. It’s for everyone,” he stated is the purpose behind the lawsuit.

While MJ broke a rare personal rule by commenting on the situation, NASCAR remains mum. We’d have to see how his confidence pans out in the future.