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The Jordans are back at it again with another business move! For their next talent, Variety reports that Michael Jordan and his son Jeffrey Jordan are moving with the times as they venture into the digital world through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and entertainment. Under a new holding company, Heir Inc., the Jordans plan to “build a consumer-facing community platform” that will enable fans to connect with their favorite athletes through a range of ways. This would also include an entertainment studio and consumer products.
Nike’s Air Jordan 16 Retro “Countdown Pack” sneakers and the adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Pirate Blacks are a few favorite sneakers you can find in this StockX sneaker authenticator’s closet. Raymond Jones is a level two sneaker authenticator at StockX, curator of a marketplace for apparel and accessories. The company is most notable for its sneaker resell program, and the primary aspect of its authentication process is making sure products are authentic. AfroTech previously reported that StockX has a global team of more than 300 authenticators across 11 authentication locations with a 99.95 percent accuracy rate. Photo Credit: Jeff Kowalsky Fashion was a big part of Jones’ upbringing and one of the reasons why he’s always dreamed of becoming a sneaker authenticator. He recalls being in high school and seeing all his peers apply for jobs at Foot Locker and similar stores so they could be the first to get their hands on the latest Jordans. Jones has been working for StockX since last...
Sneaker authentication is crucial, especially for today’s growing secondary sneaker resale market. GQ reported that the counterfeit sneaker market is worth $450 billion, and complaints of the fraudulent goods have even made it in front of a judge. The United States Department of Homeland Security ran an investigation on a Chinese company named Qing Fu Zeng between February 2012 and December 2016. The international company smuggled 22 shipping containers full of counterfeit Nike and Louis Vuitton sneakers by sea into the United States. According to the complaint, if the sneakers had been authentic, they would have been worth more than $472 million. There was a similar counterfeit ring bust back in 2018 in New York. Sneaker authentication technology is on the rise for reasons like this. Jerome Thompson, authentication manager at GOAT, told FN that one of GOAT’s co-founders launched the sneaker and apparel company in 2009 after accidentally buying a pair of fake Jordans from another...
Could SKIMS, co-founded by Kim Kardashian and Emma Grede, rival the Jordan brand? Founded in 2019, SKIMS is a brand specializing in underwear, loungewear, and shapewear designed for every body type. Its business footprint has grown to include successful brick-and-mortar locations in Georgetown, D.C.; Aventura, FL; Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Atlanta, GA; and New York, NY. The company also boasts a $4 billion valuation. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SKIMS (@skims) Grede, also CEO and co-founder of Good American, another Kardashian family business, attributes its success —not just the $270 million raised in 2023 or the partnership with The North Face—to more than Kim’s celebrity status. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SKIMS (@skims) “Talent can bring you to a product once, but you don’t come back time and time again,” Grede said in an interview with The Guardian. “You have got to be offering superior product at a price and value people really understand. If it...
Issa Rae proudly represents her home state as a powerhouse actress, producer, and entrepreneur. The Los Angeles, CA, native, well known for her rise from “ Awkward Black Girl” to “Insecure” continues to stretch herself in new ways. “ One of Them Days,” featuring SZA and Keke Palme r, made its way to the big screen in 2025, marking Rae’s first feature film released under her production company, Hoorae. According to Variety and Collider, the film made $22.2 million after its first two weekends, including the extended Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) Just a few months earlier, Rae made a new dent in the hospitality space, opening Somerville in South Los Angeles, a restaurant offering a “progressive American dining experience.” This marked her second food and drinks venture, as she had expanded Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen to the city in 2023, per Forbes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) Rae has...
LeBron James has revealed why he turned down a $10 million shoe deal at 18. The Los Angeles Lakers player appeared on the “New Heights” podcast to reflect on the array of shoe deals he considered during his early days in the league. While currently signed with Nike, James once weighed different options. At a young age, James was inspired by Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway, who were both signed to Nike. When he began playing for AAU, he grew fond of Adidas, Nike’s retail competitor. “It was Adidas from seventh, eighth grade to pretty much my junior senior year. They sponsored us. Every year, we played in all the Adidas tournaments,” he said on the podcast. At one point, a wave of companies approached James, but he felt that Reebok had delivered the most compelling pitch. “I’m sitting across from the table. I’m a senior in high school…I’m going back to class the next day. They flew me in. I’m going back to St. Vince St Mary the next day, my senior year, and the guy slides over a...
Cincoro, Michael Jordan’s spirit company, is making large strides. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the tequila company was founded in 2019 by Jordan in partnership with NBA team owners Jeanie Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks’ Wes Edens, and Boston Celtics’ Emilia Fazzalari and Wyc Grousbeck. Since then, it has won numerous awards and attracted notable investors, including Serena Williams, Derek Jeter, Michael Strahan , Fenway Sports Group Co-founder Tom Werner, and RedBird Capital Partners Founder and Managing Partner Gerry Cardinale. “Michael introduced me to the brand, and I’ve been an avid fan of Cincoro Extra Añejo since it launched in 2019. I’m honored to support Cincoro in its next era,” said Jeter in a press release. Williams commented: “Being part of Cincoro isn’t just about business —it’s about championing a legacy of greatness. I love Cincoro. Just as I’ve strived for excellence on the court, I recognize the dedication and drive behind Cincoro, and I’m...
Derrick Rose is truly living up to his name. The former NBA point guard is hosting a pop-up flower shop in Chicago, IL, on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. Rose’s Flower Shop will be open for “one day only,” from noon until 4 p.m., according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “Welcome to Rose’s, the No. 1 flower shop in Chicago . How can I help you?” Rose teased in an Instagram reel announcing his venture. “A dozen roses? Coming right up. … We’re open for business. We can do that. We got you. It’s on the house. We appreciate your business.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Derrick Rose (@drose) Rose, a Chicago native, began his NBA career with the Bulls , where he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 Draft. He made history as the youngest MVP in NBA history, winning the award in 2011 at 22 and 6 months old, the Commercial Appeal reported. While Rose is giving the community their flowers in the city where it all started, the Bulls are honoring him in return. The Bulls shared...
Michael Jordan has invested in a VC firm aiming to align itself with multiple unicorns. Sportico reports that Jordan has invested an undisclosed amount in the fourth fund of Courtside Ventures, a firm focused on the sectors of sports, media, entertainment, technology, and gaming. According to Crunchbase, the firm was founded by Deepen Parikh and Vasu Kulkarni. With over $200 million in assets under management, Courtside Ventures’ portfolio includes companies such as Veo (hardware and software subscription); Winzo (social gaming); The Athletic (sports media brand); and Betty (social casino platform), among others. “When we started Courtside in 2016, we did so out of desperate market need,” a statement from Courtside Ventures’ blog post reads . “Not only was there no venture fund that focused on sports, but existing VCs would run to the hills every time they saw a sports deal. This left entrepreneurs constantly having to look for alternate sources of funding, mostly from the very...
Jordan Brand is Nike’s best-performing division. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Jordan Brand continues to rise, tracking $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2021. At the time, this equated to a 31% increase and marked its highest yet, with growth in every region, including double digits in North America, according to WWD. The following fiscal year, Jordan Brand earned $5 billion. “We’re empowered to grow this brand and make the most of it in geographies around the world,” explained Craig Williams, the president of Jordan Brand at the time, per WWD. “And that’s where the distinctiveness and the independence — if you want to call it that — come into play. But we are turbocharged by being a part of a great global company called Nike Inc. It helps us to efficiently get things done in a way that if we were an independent company, we wouldn’t have that luxury. So it’s important for me, when I think about it with the team, to be both collaborative to take advantage of the wealth of...
Michael Jordan had an unconventional way of signing Stephen Jackson. In 2009, Jackson joined the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets) and had a debut averaging 21.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 39.3 minutes across 72 games, the Basketball Network reports. That year, the team appeared in the NBA postseason for the first time. In 2010, Jackson received mentorship from Jordan, who had acquired majority team ownership the same year. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the former owner, Bob Johnson, had sold his stake for a reported $275 million, ESPN noted, while The Charlotte Observer stated it was $180 million. “I come out of the game, I’m asking him, he’s telling me certain stuff that he sees that I should do…,” Jackson said, according to the Basketball Network. “ How many people can say that? How many people can say that they’re sitting on a sideline with MJ?” Beyond guidance, Jordan also helped save Jackson’s playing career. During an “All The Smoke”...
The Jordan Brand has attracted some of the world’s greats to its brand. However, that should come as no surprise when considering who is at the helm, NBA legend Michael Jordan. It all began when his mother, Deloris, stepped in to ensure he took a chance on signing with Nike. “My mother said, ‘You’re gonna go listen. You may not like it, but you’re gonna go listen,” Jordan said in ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, according to NBC Sports. “She made me get on that plane and go listen.” Jordan was originally looking to sign with Adidas, but he would make his commitment to Nike known when he signed to the brand in 1984 under a five-year, $2.5 million deal, Sports Illustrated reports. Immediately, Jordan’s presence and the staple Air Jordan exceeded expectations with sales reaching $126 million within one year. By 1997, the Jordan Brand began operating independently and also added apparel and accessories. T oday its annual revenue exceeds $6.6 billion, per Sportico. What’s more the...
Yo Gotti did not pay his property taxes for years due to a lack of information. During an interview with podcast “Earn Your Leisure,” the rapper revealed he was unaware he had to pay back taxes to the government. He viewed taxes as a celebration as he recalled the gifts he would receive from his mother around tax season. He didn’t know these gifts were likely coming because she had received a tax refund. “I grew up thinking, when you heard of taxes, my mama and ’em got tax money. That’s when we got new Jordans. We got new outfits… It was a celebration when it was tax time,” he said. “We was waiting on tax time. It was better than Christmas. So, I didn’t know… even in my early stages of getting money, I didn’t know we had to pay. I didn’t know because of a lack of information; they didn’t teach me that in school.” Lack of financial literacy carried over into how Yo Gotti did business too. As an investor in real estate early on, he purchased 10 to 15 homes with cash. However, he...
Rick Ross is auctioning off items for a good cause. According to Billboard, the rapper is teaming up with Julien’s Auctions to host Push It to the Limit: Luxury and Lifestyle, a two-day event held June 25-26 live and online with 800 items up for grabs. People mentions items such as Ross’ exclusive collection of street and contemporary art, designer wear, rare sneakers, and music memorabilia like Michael Jackson’s sealed “ONE” by Cirque du Soleil light-up glove , and more. Specific items include the Air Jordan Retro 5 “University of Michigan Fab 5” PEs (estimated value, $2,000-$3,000); Air Maxes (est. $1,000-$2,000); DJ Khaled “Father of Asahd” Air Jordans (est. $3,000-$5,000) and Virgil Abloh Off-White collaborations (est. $500-$700); Versace silk shirts (est. $500-$700); and designer sunglasses and varsity jackets (est. $200-$500); among others, per Billboard. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Julien's Auctions (@juliens_auctions) What’s more, in partnership with The...