Michael Jordan turns down deal; client wanted him to say a silly phrase
While MJ was looking for business opportunities, he was not willing to look foolish for a cool million dollars
Michael Jordan revealed that he declined an offer with Quaker Oats because he did not want to say “beanee weenies” on camera.
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Retired NBA player turned business mogul, Michael Jordan, has been known for making big bucks from endorsement deals. However, in a 1992 interview that has resurfaced on Wednesday, shows that there were certain things the legend just would not do. One of those things was saying the silly phrase, “beanee weenies.”
In an interview with Playboy, Mark Vancil asked Jordan about brands that he endorsed and those that he rejected. That’s when the businessman revealed that he declined an offer with Quaker Oats because of having to say “beanee weenies” on camera.
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“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?”
It’s important to note, Jordan had yet attained the success of being the billionaire that he is today, but he obviously didn’t think to make a million dollars a year was a big deal either.
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In the interview, he also revealed that turned down another contract with a hair-care product, emphasizing that he’s not going to promote anything that doesn’t reflect an “authentic representation of himself.”During that time, he was dealing with his hair thinning.
“If I wanted to be a hard-nosed businessman, I could have been in a lot of deals, like the one with Johnson Products,” Jordan explained. “I had a deal with them for their hair-care products. I had two or three more years on that deal when I started losing my hair. So I forfeited the deal. But if I had wanted to be greedy, I could’ve said, Screw you, you didn’t know my hair was falling out so you owe me money. But I didn’t.”
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From the looks of it, we’re sure that MJ isn’t regretting turning down those deals based on his success with other endorsements, such as Nike and Gatorade.
Based on his success on and off the court, Jordan definitely serves as a role model for those who aspire to become entrepreneurs and still staying true to who they are.
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