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The Ridiculous Story Of MJ Turning Down A Huge Endorsement Deal Because He Disliked The Product’s Name

We know that Jordan is incredibly wealthy, not least because of Jordan Brand and his Charlotte Hornets stake. 

While Jordan wasn’t that rich during his active NBA career, he had enough money to decline endorsement deals if he didn’t like him. The reasoning though, was funny at times, especially in this one case. Per Business Insider:

During a 1992 interview with Playboy, Jordan revealed just how important it was to keep a genuine image when picking which products to endorse. At a time when Jordan was averaging about $1 million per year as a basketball player, he turned down a seven-figure offer to endorse Beanee Weenees because he didn’t use the product and didn’t like the name.

“Two or three years ago Quaker Oats came to me to endorse Van Kamp’s pork and beans — Beanee Weenees, I think it was called,” Jordan said. “You ever heard of Beanee Weenees pork and beans? It was close to a million bucks a year. I’m saying, Beanee Weenees? How can I stand in front of a camera and say I’ll eat Beanee Weenees?”

This either was in 1988 or 1989. At the time Jordan rejected the endorsement deal, he had ‘only’ made a little under $4 million in his NBA career, which puts turning down this multiyear offer worth $1 million per year in a different perspective.