Numerous elements had to come in place for Michael Jordan‘s historic sneaker deal to happen. We all know how Jordan’s groundbreaking success opened the doors of opportunity for generations of future NBA players. Kobe Bryant is also one of them. However, it wasn’t just MJ and his legacy that played a part. There was a man behind the scenes who not only landed Jordan with Nike but also got Bryant his first sneaker deal.
Soon after leading Jordan toward his biggest deal, Sonny Vaccaro was fired from Nike following accusations of engaging in outside business while still employed by the company. That’s when Vaccaro joined rival company Adidas. One of his biggest deals with the three stripes was signing a 6-year deal with 17-year-old Kobe Bryant.
Jermaine O’Neal and Tim Thomas are some of the other names that are historically linked with the $35.70 billion rich brand, all thanks to Sonny Vaccaro. During his recent appearance in All The Smoke Podcast, former #7 pick Tim Thomas took some time to appreciate the legend when host Matt Barnes asked him about his Adidas deal.
“Yeah Sonny was our guy, I was part of that crew of babies that all went to Adidas. Me, Mac, Kobe, Jermaine was first there, It was a bunch of us. Antoine Walker. So many different guys.” Thomas further explained how Vaccaro’s recognition was like a stamp of approval for young hoopers. “He’s like the godfather of it all. If he spoke about you that meant everything.”
The legends behind Michael Jordan’s Nike Success
Sonny Vaccaro was the one who forged a friendship with the 6x NBA champion’s mother, Deloris Joran. Together, the two convinced Mike to get into a meeting with Nike. A recent sports film, ‘Air’ is also based on Vaccaro’s journey in Nike and the history with Jordan.
Another person who encouraged Jordan for the deal was his agent David Falk, who had immense faith in the UNC standout. Much credit goes to Rob Strasser too for successfully managing to change Jordan’s mind. “I absolutely fell in love with (Strasser) when he actually made the first presentation of the Jordan thing, the Air Jordan concept. I did meet Phil and obviously Phil was on a much bigger scale at that particular time. So Rob Strasser and all those guys, those are the guys I connected with initially,” Michael Jordan would later reveal in an interview with USA TODAY Sports.
But thanks to Tim Thomas, we know that without Sonny Vaccaro, we wouldn’t have witnessed Jordan partnering with Nike or Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe’s deal with Adidas. What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments section below.