MJ returns! Michael Jordan takes a new role in the NBA

Since retiring from the game in 2003, Michael Jordan had refrained from taking a television role covering the league that he helped transform into a global behemoth. Until now.

On Monday NBC announced that Jordan will be joining their NBA coverage later this year, a major coup for the network. The news was announced in a post on social media that reads: “A legendary addition to our team! We’re thrilled to welcome Michael Jordan as a special contributor to the NBA on NBC and Peacock."

Even two decades on from his retirement Jordan remains one of the biggest names in the world of sport, despite making relatively few media appearances. While the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley used their stellar basketball careers to move into media roles, Jordan has largely avoided the spotlight.

His reluctant to take a TV position may be in part due to his affiliation with the Charlotte Hornets. In 2006 Jordan bought a minority stake in the franchise and in 2010 led an ownership group that took a majority share.

For more than a decade Jordan was a majority shareholder in the team but he sold his stake in August 2023. That decision may have been a precursor to this new foray into television.

Whatever his motivations, for NBC it’s a real statement as they begin a new deal in basketball coverage. There has been no live NBA on the NBC network since 2002 but a new 11-year agreement with the league begins next season.

From the 2025/26 onward NBC and Peacock will have NBA games and they are eager to make a splash to start the new era. Details of Jordan’s exact role, or his likely-enormous salary, have not been made public but it’s fair to assume that he will command an eye-watering sum of money to make the jump into the world of media.

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