Michael Jordan’s $7 Billion Brand Signs Unrivaled Founder and WNBA DPOY Napheesa Collier

Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier was contracted to Nike for the past five years and now joins Michael Jordan's brand.

Michael Jordan’s $7 Billion Brand Signs Unrivaled Founder and WNBA DPOY Napheesa Collier

Michael Jordan personally pitched his Jordan Brand to Napheesa Collier (Image via FirstSportz)

The WNBA has seen unprecedented growth in the past season, where more and more fans are tuning in to watch the games. The result has seen many of their superstars become household names. When Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart founded Unrivaled, their debut season also helped women’s basketball grow in its stature.

Many felt last season’s growth would be difficult to top. Fans witnessed effectively two league seasons, and both helped to capture their attention. Fans and some analysts did not believe that women’s basketball could go any further than the amount of fame, tickets, and merchandise sales they had garnered.

However, the evidence so far proves otherwise. Caitlin Clark might be dominating ticket sales, but just a few days before the 2025 season, it was announced that all teams sold their season ticket allotments. That is unheard of in the WNBA, and points to a growth which is expected to keep trending upwards.

Collier and Stewart’s efforts saw Unrivaled nearly break even in its first year of operation. Quite a significant achievement considering the WNBA is still waiting to get close to breaking even. All of this has come to the attention of brands who want to associate with these women.

Every team has been raking in new sponsors, and so have players. The likes of Clark, Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, and Sabrina Ionescu have raked in the biggest deals. But now Napheesa Collier has enterred the chat with a deal with Michael Jordan‘s Air Jordan brand.

Michael Jordan made a personal pitch to sign Napheesa Collier

Jordan Brand has roped in some of the best young players in the NBA in its efforts to expand its reach. In the WNBA, the brand is on a similar mission and is looking at athletes who can help the brand grow, but at the same time, be good enough to wear the Jumpman logo on their feet.

Napheesa Collier had already spent the last five years wearing Jordan Brand’s parent company, Nike’s shoes. Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Paige Bueckers are signed with Nike. Jordan Brand, on the other hand, does not have enough All-Stars other than Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard.

They made a serious pitch to the Unrivaled co-founder to bring her in. As per Sportico, Michael Jordan, who lives most of the time in Miami, Florida, went to the meeting where his brand representatives were trying to recruit the 28-year-old.

He convinced her not by drawing up sales figures and how much she would make. He instead talked about how the brand would resonate with how she is both on and off the court. Collier told Sportico that those pitches convinced her Jordan brand was the right way to go.

Napheesa Collier ties WNBA record in Jordan Brand debut

Napheesa Collier has been of the most active voices in the world of women’s basketball. Her mature approach to salary negotiations for women in basketball has been instrumental in the Unrivaled league handing out more than twice the WNBA’s league average in terms of paychecks.

Napheesa Collier dominated against Paige Bueckers' Wings
Napheesa Collier dominated against Paige Bueckers’ Wings (Image via Open Source/X)

She also ensures her performances back up her status as one of the best players in the league. In her 2025 WNBA season opening game against Bueckers’ Dallas Wings, Collier dropped 34 points. That ties the record for most points on the opening day, and she did that wearing the brand’s latest women-specific model, the Jordan Heir.

She was eventually overtaken by Kelsey Plum in her Los Angeles Sparks debut. But Collier dropping that much was a testament that she was going for the MVP award this season. Last season, she finished second behind eventual winner A’ja Wilson.

She knows that Wilson got her signature shoe after winning three of those awards, along with two titles. Collier was a couple of scores away from winning her first title last season. This season, she wants to climb the next step and win a title along with her first MVP award. That should help her garner a signature shoe down the line.

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