Michael Jordan surprised the basketball world with his decision to join NBC’s upcoming NBA coverage as a special contributor.
Pretty much by default, Jordan’s insights will carry extra weight. In many eyes, he’s the greatest of all time. No matter what he says, people will listen.
Theories abound as to why MJ is actually doing this. It seems from the outside to be rather out of the blue.
But a fellow NBA legend, Hawks great Dominique Wilkins, is pretty sure of one thing about this whole endeavor. He bets Jordan is going to get paid a ton.
“I was shocked. And I know this: if Jordan is doing this, it’s got to be a huge payday,” Wilkins said, via Kyle Odegard of eSports Insider. “Huge. I’ve seen some of the rumors (on pay) and it’s like, ‘I get it.'”
Jordan’s role is framed as being a bit different than the more classic color commentator or studio analyst roles. That makes it tough to predict exactly what the dollar figure will be.
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He joins the trend of GOATs getting involved in TV, a path that Tom Brady and Wayne Gretzky have already taken.
“I love it,” Wilkins said, “because we’re going to see another aspect of basketball from the greatest to ever do it. How would you combat that? Like, how would you question his outlook on the game? It’s going to be interesting. They are going to hear it from a guy who has done it on a level that only a few get a chance to achieve.”
Many, of course, will be very interested to hear Jordan talk about LeBron James on national television.
But there is the potential for just as many throwback stories from the battles of his day. Jordan showed how entertaining he can be as part of The Last Dance documentary.
Many all-time greats have been less than stellar on television. But Jordan is giving it a shot, and he might just swish it.
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