| The former player and part-owner of the Washington Wizards, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, signed a $25 million deal with WorldCom in 1995, including a $5 million signing bonus, for the right to use his likeness in ads. He last appeared on the air for WorldCom in 2001.
The company dumped its star in 2003 and refused to pay the balance of his contract, arguing that Jordan was an employee of the company and was not entitled to recover his salary through the bankruptcy process. Not true, said his lawyers. Jordan's work was limited to endorsements and he is entitled to be paid.
His lawyers said Jordan gave WorldCom a license to use his likeness, which the company used until it filed for bankruptcy protection.
WorldCom has allowed that Jordan is entitled to recover what he can of half of the $8 million, according to court papers.
We are pleased that the first half of Michael's claim has been allowed in full, and we look forward to addressing Michael's entitlement to the second half of his claim, said Frederick J. Sperling, a lawyer who has represented Jordan for many years.
U.
S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez agreed, saying a further evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine what Jordan could have received from other endorsement contracts in place of the WorldCom contract.
WorldCom declined comment, as did Jordan's longtime adviser, David Falk.
Before WorldCom's merger with MCI in 1998, many analysts credited Jordan for giving the company name recognition and credibility with a national audience. acquired Ashburn-based MCI in 2005 for around $8.
5 billion.
In 2002, WorldCom announced it had inflated earnings by $9 billion between 1999 and 2002, which pushed the company into bankruptcy.
Jordan, who won 10 scoring titles and five most valuable player awards, has earned hundreds of millions from endorsement deals, sports industry experts estimate. His Nike Jordan line remains among the biggest sellers of basketball shoes, four years after he left the court.
Staff researcher Karl Evanzz contributed to this report.
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Related news
- Stage Review: Quantum's 'Red Shoes' adds some flamenco passion to season
Dwayne Jenkings
After all, what could be a better antidote to this deep freeze of the year than a snappy, brief musical parable about letting go of frigid inhibitions and liberating the emotional dancer within? That's not really the story originally told by Hans Christi...
- More Information About Transforming Nike Shoes! - Transformers News
Andy Jones
has been updated once again with some interesting Transformers products. These sports and music labels can be ordered via their site. TF Sports Label Convoy feat. NIKE Free 7.0: only 10000 will be produced. TF Sports Label Megatron feat...
- Discount Golf Shoes Blog Archive Today in the Times
Franky Micklestone
Contra Costa Times, CA - Nov 20, 2006 My first name was Thrif D Discount Center, but I changed it sporting goods, offering a broad range of products, from golf clubs and casual shoes to active The Herald-Times (subscripti...
- Sneakerheads love to show off shoes
Penny Ditch
section and change the sub-menu id as explained previously. To add a submenu *item*, add an item to the list. Matt Halfhill is crazy about sneakers. He worked in a shoe store as a teenager, buying shoes on clearance...
- skateboard shoes: Back to school (Skateboard shoes) fashion
Jill Stone
Back to school fashion Asheville Citizen-Times - My favorite kind of shoes are tennis shoes, said Fisher Carlton, 9, a student at Central Elementary in Haywood County. I like to wear jean shorts to school, said Central Elementary student Abygail Clark, 9...
|
News RSS