Air Jordan: It's gotta be the DNA

Forbes declared Michael Jordan a billionaire this year. For that, the Charlotte Hornets owner can thank the Milwaukee Bucks (Wednesday night's opponent in his team's season opener), Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks, among others. And his pal Mars Blackmon.

John Vrooman, a sports business professor at Vanderbilt University, told me during a recent interview that soaring values across the NBA have pushed the Hornets into the range of $850 million. Jordan bought majority interest in the team from Robert Johnson in 2010 for $175 million. He subsequently boosted his stake to 90 percent from 80 percent.

Sure, Jordan has rebuilt the roster — or allowed GM Rich Cho to do so — and brought back the Hornets name after a decade of futility for the Charlotte franchise as the Bobcats. The biggest boost, though, comes from the league itself. Milwaukee sold for $550 million and the Clippers went for $2 billion during the past six months, while Atlanta is likely to fetch $750 million. All teams, especially franchises in small and midsized markets such as Charlotte, are benefiting from a 10-year labor contract signed with the players in 2011, a deal that gives owners a bigger share of league revenue and distributes more money to small-city teams. Add in a new TV deal with ESPN and Turner that triples the national broadcast revenue to $2.7 billion annually, and it's easy to see Jordan and his franchise have a lot of upside.

During a session with reporters in Charlotte this week, Jordan declined to comment on how much of a mess he inherited from Johnson, calling the question unfair. He went on to say his familiarity with North Carolina and people here made him better-suited to repair some of the frayed relationships, including more emphasis on community service. Several sponsorships, including a new agreement with Food Lion, include significant charity campaigns, such as hunger relief.

Erik Spanberg covers government, sports business, hospitality and airlines for the Charlotte Business Journal.