Spencer Haywood and Michael Jordan were Nike‘s first and second NBA shoe endorsers. Haywood debuted Nike’s first basketball shoe in 197, the Nike Bruin, while Jordan was, of course, the man behind the legendary “Air Jordan” shoe franchise.

However, while they had that connection, they got together because Haywood had retired the year before Jordan was drafted. During his recent appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast, Spencer recalled his first meeting with Michael, which took place many years ago.

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“I’m in New York and I’m trying to figure out, man, I’m negotiating because we were like part of the players’ union, and they were doing this negotiation,”recalled Haywood on the recent All The Smoke podcast. “So I get this call from Mike. And I’m like “What the f–k are you calling me for? You corporate, and I’m the grunt. So Mike said, “Come on down. Let’s have dinner, man.” 

Haywood was representative of the NBRPA, while MJ was the Hornets’ owner

It’s unclear when this happened, but it was undoubtedly a CBA year, as Haywood mentioned negotiations, and they’re in New York, where the league’s office is located.

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It is also worth noting that after his retirement, Spencer worked for the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), where he was part of the negotiating team representing the players. Meanwhile, his saying Jordan was corporate meant that MJ was a team owner. Mike was the Charlotte Hornets’ franchise owner from 2010 to 2023, so it must be the CBA years within those dates.

“So we had a nice dinner,” continued Haywood. “We talked a lot of s–t. And he kept telling me, he kept telling all the owners and everything that was there, “This was the first Nike guy. I wouldn’t have my contract if he hadn’t threw his away.” And I was like, “Mike, you can’t do it like that.” But Mike was so cool. He was just showing some love.”

But Haywood was already retired when Jordan arrived

As mentioned earlier, Jordan arrived in the league the year after Haywood retired, so Mike’s statement that Nike wouldn’t have signed him if Spencer were around was incorrect. When Haywood retired, they needed a new face, and they would still have gone after Mike because they had nobody then. Perhaps if Magic Johnson had accepted Phil Knight’s offer in 1979, that would have been the scenario in which Nike probably wouldn’t have pursued Jordan in 1984. But life works in mysterious ways.

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Johnson turned down Nike’s offer because they dangled shares of the corporation’s stock as payment, as they did not have the financial resources that other shoe brands had during that time. As Magic keeps on saying, he had no idea what stocks were at the age of 19. And so, not only did he lose out on billions of dollars, but he may also have paved the way for MJ in 1984.

Meanwhile, like Magic, Haywood did not appreciate the value of Nike stocks and ultimately missed out on becoming a billionaire. Although he accepted a payment of stock for endorsing Nike, his agent ultimately sold his Nike equity because he didn’t think the Swoosh brand would be successful and was concerned that the stock might lose value.

Jordan also took the stock option in 1984 and then turned his “Air Jordan” shoe into a phenomenon, catapulting Nike to the top shoe brand in the world. Had Haywood kept his share, he would have been the fourth billionaire produced by the NBA.

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Related: “What happens if he doesn’t do any of those three but still sells shoes?” – Nike built a backdoor into Michael Jordan’s first shoe deal in case he flopped

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.