40 million annual salary is firmly in the top commentator! Jordan returns, this time he wants to "save" the NBA ratings

Shocked and dropped my chin! 62-year-old basketball god Michael Jordan suddenly announced his comeback! This time, he was not wearing a jersey, but wearing a suit - he signed with NBC with an annual salary of $40 million, becoming the highest annual commentator in NBA history. This wave of operations directly broke the ceiling of the sports commentary industry. You should know that the annual salary of rugby legend Brady is only 37.5 million, and Jordan only needs to record a few tactical analysis before the game and during the halftime break to easily take away this sky-high contract.

40 million bought is not a commentary, but a killing of feelings!

Jordan's comeback this time looks like "the money is in place", but in fact it is closely related to the NBA's traffic crisis. NBC just signed a 11-year broadcast agreement of $76 billion, but it caught up with the NBA's ratings. This year's top four teams Knicks, Pacers, Thunder, and Timberwolves have a lot of attention. The attention is not even comparable to the Bulls that year. What to do? NBC has launched its ultimate move: use feelings to save traffic!

Do you still remember the classic scenes when NBC broadcasted the NBA 23 years ago? Jordan ended the game with his iconic back jump shot, the camera swept through the Hollywood stars in the audience, and the song "Roundball Rock" sounded in the background. As soon as this melody sounded, how many old fans' DNA moved? This time, NBC directly announced the restart of this theme song, and with Jordan's commentary, it is definitely a "memory killing package". Why is Jordan’s 40 million worth this price?

Some people say that Jordan is 62 years old, what else can I have to pay attention to? But you have to understand that his value is much more than commentary.

Travel Password: Jordan's name is the guarantee of ratings. More than 1 billion people watched the Bulls' game that year; now he officially announced that NBC's search volume has soared by 300%.

Professional endorsement: Jordan showed amazing tactical insights in the documentary "The Last Dance". For example, he evaluated Westbrook's triple-double and Harden's 30 points: "I only know that 6 championships are harder than anything else." This ability to "show the essence in one sentence" is exactly what NBC needs most.

Business Linkage: Jordan's AJ series can earn billions of dollars a year, and his return can directly drive NBC's advertising revenue. According to internal news, a sports brand has already bid 50 million to insert advertisements in the clip of Jordan's commentary.

Jordan's 40 million is more profitable than playing basketball?

Looking at Jordan's salary changes, you will know what it means to be "Ginger is still the hottest":

Player period: In his 15 years of career, Jordan earned a total of 94 million US dollars, of which he only received 30 million in the first 10 years.

Commentary period: Now you can earn 40 million in a year, which is equivalent to his half-year income during his player period. What's even more amazing is that he doesn't need to jump shots or defense, he just needs to sit in the studio to analyze his tactics.

Brady in the rugby industry was even more exaggerated: he made 300 million yuan when playing basketball, and had a contract of 375 million yuan in 10 years after his career change commentator. To put it bluntly, after the top star retires, "talking about the ball" is more profitable than "playing the ball". Barkley's annual salary in the NBA was up to 9 million, but now he gets 20 million a year as a commentator, which is the reality.

Jordan's comeback, the "last ace" of the NBA?

The NBA has indeed been a bit "soft" in the past two years:

Star fault: James is old, Doncic and Alexander have not yet taken the banner, and the ratings have dropped by 23% compared to five years ago.

Match rhythm: The proportion of three-pointers increased from 25% to 42%, and the game became a "shot competition", and the confrontationality dropped significantly.

Traffic Crisis: In recent years, the ratings of the finals hit a new low in the past decade, and even Xiao Hua was so anxious that he was getting less and less hair.

Jordan's return may inject a shot of heart into the NBA. His influence is not only at the basketball level—he made the NBA the world's largest professional league back then, but now he can rekindle the enthusiasm of fans with commentary. As he said himself: "What matters is not how many points I get, but how many people fall in love with basketball because they watch me play." This sentence applies to the commentary seat.

Jordan's commentary is sentiment, and it is also the inheritance

Jordan's comeback, which is the "return of feelings" that the NBA needs most. When the melody of "Roundball Rock" sounds again and when Jordan's voice echoes in the studio, those memories of the Bulls dynasty and the Golden Age of basketball will eventually be awakened. He is no longer the flying No. 23, but he is still the "king of traffic" in the basketball world.

Perhaps, this is what Jordan really means: he never left, he just changed his way and continued to write the legend. And the NBA has finally found the spark to keep warm in the cold winter of traffic - that is, people will always pay for their feelings.