Although Magic Johnson today is known as an NBA legend and a successful investor and media personality, back in 1979 when he was entering the league he had much less business acumen than he does today.
While speaking to Jemele Hill for BET's 'Genius Talks' series, Johnson recalled the proposition he was given by Nike after he was drafted in 1979, when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the first overall pick and was offered endorsement deals by every major shoe company in the world.
One of those companies happened to be Nike, that at the time was a new brand in comparison to Converse and Adidas, and who was offering a majority of stock to Johnson in comparison to all the cash that other companies had offered up front.
"They came in and said listen Magic," the 5x champion and former Lakers President said in reference to Nike's pitch, "we can't give you as much money because we just got started, but we can give you a lot of stock - and I didn't know what the hell stock was you know - I'm 18 I want the money, I'm from the hood we gotta get our paper."
With that said, Johnson looks back at the decision as one of his greatest miscalculations in business, which he referred to back in 2017 by saying: “Boy, did I make a mistake, I’m still kicking myself. Every time I’m in a Nike store I get mad.”
Source: Twitter
