And that was also when Nike was betting a lot of its future on Michael Jordan.
Part of that story will be told in the upcoming film, Air, which Affleck will direct and star alongside Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, and more. Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight, and Damon plays then-Nike CEO Sonny Vaccaro who is tasked with finding a way to save what was then the company’s fledgling basketball division, the Associated Press reports.
Affleck did it with the absence of one major character: Jordan didn’t appear in the movie.
“What I wanted to try and achieve is for Michael Jordan to have an impact on the story that he has in the world, and obviously the vast majority of people don’t know and haven’t met Michael Jordan and yet they do know that,” Affleck said. “So, in a way, it’s like a presence that he feels and discusses and everyone around him is there. But you never see his face.”
Jordan ended up being signed by Nike for a reported $2.5 million to a five-year contract.
It was a huge gamble.
Spoiler alert with apologies for the movie, which will be released on April 5: It worked.
Jordan’s brand generated $4.7 billion in revenue in 2021, the Jumpman logo is iconic, Nike has become one of the most powerful and recognizable companies in the world, Jordan won six NBA championships, became a billionaire, and now owns the Charlotte Hornets.
And since most viewers already know all of these things, Affleck took up the challenge of telling the lesser-known parts of the story.
“The film has to be realistic, it has to be real, it has to surprise the audience,” Affleck said. “Because if what’s happening is something the audience can predict, even if they like it, they go along with it, it’s mundane, it’s boring. It’s not what I want to do.”
The trailer, which was released last week, reaches 6 million views. Affleck was at the All-Star Weekend to help promote the Celebrity Game on Friday, and ads for the movie were displayed on the stadium’s jumbo scoreboards.
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