Touching a corner of Jordan’s life, real or otherwise, translates to staggering dollars. It was like Michael’s presence was in the room and he attacked his brother.” In the corner of the room, there was a Michael Jordan (stand-up). “We had a sales meeting in a conference room. “My favorite Larry story was early on,” Masherah said. Jordan’s brother, Larry, who is prominently featured in the series, worked at Upper Deck from 1998-2011. Roots run deeper than just business, however. From a branding standpoint, Michael and his team realized there’s something to be said for making them high end and super limited.” “But other than Upper Deck, he doesn’t really sign autographs. “He’ll take care of sick kids, kids at camps or whatever,” Masherah said. When approached for an autograph in France, Jordan declined. The relationship and loyalty between the player and company makes a subtle appearance as cameras rolled. Sounds like the Jordan portrayed in the series, without a doubt. “The intensity and attention to detail he shows on the court is the same he shows with the memorabilia.” If he thinks a piece is not up to his standards, there’s a crease in a card, the marker ink isn’t right, he’ll reject it. He wants to make sure the quality is there. “Michael takes great pride in his signature,” Masherah said. The superstar has been with Upper Deck and only Upper Deck for nearly three decades.

They’re so plugged into all things Jordan-signature related that Upper Deck can tell you if you flip one sideways the ‘M’ in his first name becomes his jersey number 23. That’s easy for Upper Deck, which logs signature dates, hologram technology numbers and other details to track and verify its memorabilia. Phones jammed with those trying to confirm items purchased on secondary markets were authentic. Upper Deck has fielded calls from China, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and more. The series shot interest into the stratosphere. They were grabbing entire skids of them just to get the trading cards. “People were buying like two years’ worth of underwear. “We slipped cards into the packs of underwear and some of them were signed,” Masherah said. The promotion was timed to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Upper Deck partnered with Hanes, Jordan’s longtime undergarment, to make trading cards harkening back to the brand’s light-hearted commercials featuring Jordan. Then again, they already had the Underwear Barometer. Another hint of it: Since the series began, the company has sold multiple, signed Legends of Sports prints featuring Jordan, Woods and Muhammad Ali … for $35,000 a pop.

Michael jordan autograph