The Last Dance, which began airing on ESPN on Sunday, April 19th, is a ten-part documentary series about the career of athlete Michael Jordan. Using 106 interviews and excerpts from over 10,000 hours of sports footage of Jordan, the series will juxtapose Jordan’s rookie year in 1984 with his ‘last dance,’ his final season with the Bulls in ’89. Director Jason Hehir spent two years assembling the whole series. It was meant to be aired during the 2020 NBA Finals in June, but ESPN moved it up to fill the vast gaps left in their programming by current events.
According to one tracking website, Michael Jordan made nearly $90,000,000 in basketball. Smart business moves, including a number of real estate investments, have him sitting now at an estimated $2.1 billion, which makes him the wealthiest former athlete in the world.
‘The Last Dance’ is expected to make Jordan between $3 and 4 million, all of which Jordan has committed to donating to charitable causes. Which causes? He hasn’t yet released that information, but given current events, it’s likely safe to assume it will be something related to COVID-19 relief. And while that may seem like pennies in His Airness’s very large pockets, it’s hardly his only foray into philanthropy. Jordan has raised and personally donated millions of dollars to Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club Louisiana, Make-A-Wish, dozens of charities and a school in Chicago, and several hurricane relief foundations.
Other basketball players have also stepped up to the charity 3-point line during this time of crisis: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert (himself infected with COVID-19), Blake Griffin, Zion Wilson, and several other players have donated hundreds of thousands to help keep thousands of employees on the payroll at their home arenas, staff who would otherwise be jobless while professional sports are all on furlough.
Source: Forbes