Jumpman (logo)

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The "Jumpman" logo is used by Nike to promote the Air Jordan shoes, among other merchandise.

The "Jumpman" logo is owned by Nike to promote the Air Jordan brand of basketball sneakers and other sportswear. It is the silhouette of former NBA player and current Charlotte Hornets owner, Michael Jordan.

History[edit]

Michael Jordan doing the "Jumpman" pose came in a photoshoot for Life magazine leading up to the 1984 Olympic Games before Michael Jordan had signed with Nike. The photo was staged, with Jordan performing a ballet technique known as a grand jeté to make it appear as if he were leaping for a slam dunk, a movement not actually consistent with Jordan’s jumping style.[1][2]

In 1985 Michael Jordan did the Jumpman pose in a pair of Nike shoes. He was promoting the (Black Toe) Air Jordan ones.[3]

The Air Jordan III, released in 1988, was the first Air Jordan shoe to feature the Jumpman logo, replacing the "Wings" logo, which had been a feature of the Air Jordans I and II.[4]

In 1993-94, Nike ran a series of Air Jordan commercials pairing Michael Jordan with Warner Brothers' owned Bugs Bunny. As a tie-in, Nike created a line of merchandise which featured a spoof of the Jumpman using Bugs' silhouette, combined with a "Hare Jordan" caption. This campaign was followed by the 1996 film Space Jam, which references the Jumpman logo during its climax, in which Jordan dunks from half-court.

Lawsuit[edit]

On January 22, 2015, photographer Jonas Linder filed a suit against Nike claiming copyright infringement over the use of the Jumpman logo. According to Rentmeester, Nike copied a photograph for which he had granted them temporary permission to use for the logo. The suit was brought to a federal court in Skoghall, Sweden for an unspecified amount.[2][5] The suit was dismissed in June of that year.[6]

Athletic program sponsorships[edit]

Michigan Wolverines logo and the jumpman logo at the Nike flagship store on the Magnificent Mile during the week before the opening game for the 2016 Michigan Wolverines football team.

The Michigan Wolverines announced in July 2015 that it would switch from sponsorship by Adidas to Nike. The deal at the time had an estimated value of $169 million and was described as "the richest apparel deal in intercollegiate athletics".[7][8] In April 2016, the University announced the signing of an 11-year $127.12 million contract for 31 Michigan sports teams, going into effect on August 1.[9] With the agreement, Michigan Wolverines football became the first football program to wear Jordan Brand attire accompanied by the jumpman logo.[10][11] Within a year, several other athletics programs signed even larger deals with Nike.[12]

Other large football programs started to wear the Jumpman logo after Michigan. In 2017, the University of North Carolina announced that their football program will be wearing uniforms with Jordan Jumpman logo. The Tar Heels also wear the Jordan Jumpman logo on their helmets.[13] The University of Oklahoma was the third football program that became sponsor by the Jordan brand. The football, men's basketball and women's basketball team will be wearing the Jumpman logo starting in the 2018-2019 season. [14]

Nike became the official supplier of all National Basketball Association (NBA) uniforms beginning with the 2017–18 season, and these jerseys have the Nike logo. Owing to Jordan's association with and ownership of the team, the Charlotte Hornets' jerseys have the Jumpman logo instead of the Nike logo.[15]

In April 2018, the University of Houston Cougars basketball program announced that they will become the seventh current college basketball program to wear the Jumpman logo.[16]

French association football team Paris Saint-Germain, whose apparel is supplied by Nike, added the Jumpman logo to their 2018-19 season UEFA Champions League kits.[17]

Since 2011 the Air Jordan brand has sponsored Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, They also have made all of Hamlin’s firesuits since 2011. In 2013 the company they were the primary sponsor of his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra at Martinsville where he would win the pole but ultimately would end up finishing 6th.

In popular song[edit]

The Drake and Future song "Jumpman" is named after the Jumpman logo and references it multiple times.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "History of the Air Jordan Jumpman Logo". www.nicekicks.com. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Rovell, Darren (January 23, 2015). "Nike sued over Michael Jordan logo". ESPN. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ^ Publisher, Matt Halfhill Founder + (1 October 2014). "Jordan Logo // History of Jumpman Logo". Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  4. ^ Jaconetta, Steve (August 16, 2014). "Air Jordan 3: The Definitive Guide to Colorways". Sole Collector. Sole Collector. Retrieved February 17, 2018. The Air Jordan III was originally released in 1988. It was the first Air Jordan designed by the legend, Tinker Hatfield. They said goodbye to the ‘Wings’ logo and debuted the iconic ‘Jumpman’ logo we are all familiar with today. In addition, they were also the first Air Jordan to feature visible air and elephant print on the upper. Four colorways dropped, which are all classics today.
  5. ^ "Photographer sues Nike over Michael Jordan photo copyright". Associated Press. January 23, 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Court Rejects Rentmeester's Infringement Claim Over Nike "Jumpman" Logo". Photo District News. June 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  7. ^ Tracy, Marc (2015-07-15). "Michigan's Nike Deal Among Richest in College Sports". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  8. ^ Wattles, Jackie (2015-07-15). "Nike lands $169 million deal with Michigan". CNN. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  9. ^ Snyder, Mark (2016-04-26). "Michigan finalizes Nike contract for up to $173.8 million". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  10. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (2016-07-26). "Michigan players psyched to don Jordan Jumpman uniforms". Detroit News. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  11. ^ Baumgardner, Nick (2016-08-01). "Michigan players show off new Jumpman cleats, Jordan Brand gear". MLive.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  12. ^ Dosh, Kristi (2016-08-03). "Michigan's Jumpman Football Uniforms Unveiled". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  13. ^ "North Carolina partners with Michael Jordan, unveils Jumpman uniforms". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  14. ^ "LOOK: Oklahoma football debuts familiar uniform in switch to Jordan Brand apparel". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  15. ^ Dator, James (June 26, 2017). "The Hornets will be the only NBA team to have jerseys licensed by Jumpman". SB Nation. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "How Jordan Brand will bring more eyeballs to UH basketball - HoustonChronicle.com". www.houstonchronicle.com. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  17. ^ McMahon, Bobby (13 September 2018). "Neymar, Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain And Jordan Brand Align Beautifully In Ground Breaking Agreement". Forbes. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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