In Trafford, Pennsylvania on September 23, 1939, was born John Paul Vincent “Sonny” Vaccaro. Sonny began his career as a teacher and then organized high school all-star games during the 1970s. In 1965, Vaccaro co-founded the first high school All-Star game in the country.
After leaving Nike in 1991, he began working for Adidas, where he signed a young Kobe Bryant in 1996. Before joining Nike, Vaccaro was already a legend in the basketball world, having produced some of the most memorable high school basketball events of all time.
The Dapper Dan Roundball Rock Classic, which was founded by Vaccaro and his childhood buddy Pat DiCesare in 1964 and continued on until 2007, was the first-ever high school All-Star basketball event.
In 1984, he started an event called ABCD Camp where the greatest high school basketball players could compete in front of college coaches and professional scouts.
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How Rich Is Sonny Vaccaro?
Sonny Vaccaro is a former sports marketing executive and successful businessman in the United States. He is estimated to be worth $5 million, as estimated by Bustle.
Sonny Vaccaro is famous for signing Michael Jordan to his first shoe deal during his time at Nike. Vaccaro began his career with Nike and has since worked for Adidas and Reebok. Vaccaro was also instrumental in convincing Kobe Bryant to join Adidas.
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How Sonny Vaccaro Helped Nike Sign Up Michael Jordan?
Before Jordan’s debut year in the NBA, Vaccaro played a pivotal role in talks that ultimately resulted in Nike signing Jordan, as per Sporting News.
After successfully luring universities to Nike, Vaccaro remarked in ‘Sole Man’ that the company needed to “get a signature athlete who was going to be a signature marketing icon.”
Adidas, which had a sizable piece of the basketball sneaker market, was actively courting Jordan, who had worn Converse in college. After much persuasion on Vaccaro’s part, Jordan and his family agreed to let Vaccaro realize Nike’s full potential by allowing him to create a signature sneaker bearing his name.
In 1984, Jordan signed a $2.5 million contract with Nike for a period of five years. You might be curious to check the tweet below with regard to how Sonny Vaccaro led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan.
Follows the history of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan.#AIR (2023) by @BenAffleck, now streaming on @PrimeVideoIN.#AIRMovie #AIROnPrime pic.twitter.com/whFzwmujDz
— CinemaRare (@CinemaRareIN) May 12, 2023
The Air Jordan 1 was the most successful sneaker launch in history, grossing $126 million in its first year on the market despite initial projections of $3 million during the first three years of the contract.
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