Affleck directing Michael Jordan film — without Jordan

`Air' will look at groundbreaking sneaker deal

Ben Affleck is readying the release of a new movie on how Nike signed an NBA rookie named Michael Jordan in 1984 to what became an iconic and groundbreaking endorsement deal.

Affleck, known as a diehard Boston sports fan who has also directed film dramas set in his favorite city (“Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town”), is turning the camera on a lesser-known chapter of the career of Chicago Bulls legend Jordan.

But in “Air,” which Affleck directed and stars in alongside Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman and more, the filmmaker recounts how in 1984 Nike decided to bet much of its future on the emerging star Jordan.

Affleck plays Nike cofounder Phil Knight, and Damon plays then-Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro — who was tasked with finding a way of saving what was then the company's fledgling basketball division.

Affleck did it with one key character absent: Jordan is not shown in the movie, which is due in theaters April 5.

“What I wanted to try to accomplish was to have Michael Jordan have the effect in the story that he has in the world, which is that obviously the vast majority of people don't know and have never met Michael Jordan — and yet they know about him, and they know what he means and they might talk about him,” Affleck said during a recent news conference during the NBA All-Star Game weekend in Salt Lake City. “So, in a way, he's like a presence that's felt and discussed and everybody else around him is there. But you never see his face.”

Nike wound up signing Jordan — who had yet to play an NBA game — to a $2.5 million, five-year deal. It was a huge gamble. Spoiler alert: It worked out.

Jordan Brand generated $4.7 billion in revenue in 2021, the Jumpman logo is iconic, Nike has become one of the world's most powerful and recognizable companies, and Jordan won six NBA championships, became a billionaire and now owns the Charlotte Hornets.

And since most viewers will already know all those things, Affleck took on the challenge of telling lesserknown parts of the story.

“The movie has to do realistic, it has to do authentic, and it has to surprise the audience,” Affleck said. “Because if what happens is something that the audience can predict, even if they like it, they go along with it, it's ordinary, it's boring. It's just not what I want to do.”

Affleck said he has met with Jordan about the movie.

“Somebody asked me what you're doing from Boston and making a movie about the Chicago guy,” Affleck said in an interview with a number of media outlets. “Michael Jordan sort of transcends, I think, rivalry.”