Sports fans around the world tuned in this past weekend to watch Michael Jordan’s highly-anticipated documentary, “The Last Dance,” which aired on ESPN.
The NBA superstar is now pledging to donate all the profits he’s expected to receive from the docuseries to charitable causes, according to Complex.
Forbes reported that Jordan is set to make roughly $3 million to $4 million from the documentary, which largely focuses on his 1997–98 season with the Chicago Bulls.
The docuseries was originally slated to release in June, but in light of the NBA season being suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, ESPN pushed the release date up.
#TheLastDance is already the most-watched documentary in ESPN history: https://t.co/0dYZWzi1MY
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 20, 2020
Complex reported that director Jason Hehir recently sat down with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch to recount Jordan’s take on the public’s anticipated reaction to the docuseries.
“When people see this footage I’m not sure they’re going to be able to understand why I was so intense, why I did the things I did, why I acted the way I acted, and why I said the things I said,” Jordan said, according to Hehir, back in 2017.
Hehir received backlash in regards to how featured celebrities were portrayed in the docuseries, after referring to Barack Obama as a “former Chicago resident” instead of a former president.
“I wanted each subject in the movie to have an “organic connection” to Jordan and his story, as opposed to simply including “as many famous people … as possible,” said Hehir.
Episodes one and two — which premiered on April 19 — pulled in over 6.1 million viewers, according to Sports Illustrated. The remaining installments will air each Sunday over the next few weeks at 9 p.m. ET.