Jimmy Johnson, along with his team, Fish Hard Events, organizes an annual sportsfishing tournament that NBA legend Michael Jordan once lost. With the conclusion of this year’s three-stop competition, the Dallas Cowboys legend and his team have announced next year’s dates and purse.
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“The 16th Annual JJFISHWEEKFL is officially on the calendar! March 2–6, 2027 — two tournaments, one week, and a whole lot of championship fishing,” the competition’s Instagram handle captioned a post. “Jimmy Johnson’s ‘Quest for the Ring’ Billfish Championship – The one and only Catch and Release tournament with a guaranteed $1Mill+ purse, the largest guaranteed purse now 10 yrs running.”
Every year, the series starts with Stop 1, the Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions Invitational (in February), which kicks off the schedule in Miami Beach, FL. Meanwhile, Stop 2, Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Florida (JJFISHWEEKFL), takes place in March.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, hosts the competition, ft. “three tournaments in one week,” including the core Catch & Release Billfish Championship, the JJSPORTFISH weighted tournament, and the Hard Rock Invitational.
However, this time, the JJSPORTFISH competition isn’t taking place, whereas Jimmy Johnson’s “Quest for the Ring” Billfish Championship and the Hard Rock Invitational competition remain on schedule.
Johnson and his team have offered a guaranteed $1 million base purse for nine consecutive years for the winners. For the 10th season, the amount remains the same. However, the purse gets divided among the winners.
Typically, the 1st place overall takes home the highest percentage cut of the base prize money pool, plus Jimmy Johnson’s signature Ring of Honor Championship Ring. Meanwhile, 2nd and 3rd Place Overall receive scaled percentages of the remaining base structural pool, alongside the 4th place overall.
Michael Jordan has also participated in the same event multiple times. For Jimmy Johnson, the appearance of a personality like the NBA icon adds more glamour to his fishing competition.
“We did Atlantic City for the first time in 2021. It was brought with some skepticism to start, but now everyone wants to be involved. MJ (Michael Jordan) now fishes the tournament,” Johnson said in an interview with The Fisherman in 2023. “We just want the tournament to draw anglers from all over to be entertained, and if you’re lucky, you win the ring.”
Jordan did come close to winning the ring once. In 2025, the former NBA star and the Catch 23 crew (professional sportfishing team led by Jordan) secured a third-place finish at the Florida leg of the tournament.
The NBA icon even took home a total of $123,500 with 12 releases (unhooking a caught fish). On the other hand, the winner received a $444,000 payout for his 18 releases.
Heading into 2027 (16th overall season), Jimmy Johnson’s sportfishing competition will host their Stop 1 at the same venue, Miami Beach, Florida, from February 4 to February 6. Meanwhile, Stop 2 is set to go down from March 2 to March 6 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
However, for the third and final stop of the season, Johnson and his team have yet to reveal the dates. However, the venue is expected to be the same as every year at Farley State Marina in Atlantic City, New Jersey.