The word “special contributor” attached to Michael Jordan made headlines a few weeks ago. The nostalgia of NBC alongside the analysis of the 6x NBA champion in the modern game seems too good to be true. For now, the majority of the people are elated to find out what exact duties the Bulls legend will take on. But there are a few media members who have asked to temper down the expectations. So, is there a catch?
As per one of the NBC senior producers, it was all MJ’s plan to come back once NBC got the rights. “He didn’t just want a paycheck or to show up a few times,” an anonymous higher executive said to the Chicago Tribune. “He wanted to be involved, he had a vision. And it had nothing to do with nostalgia.” So, this clearly states the intention of His Airness, yet Dan Le Batard is not convinced and made a bold proclamation about this partnership.
The 56-year-old said, “When you hear that Michael Jordan is back, and that he’s going to be a contributor to Peacock and NBC, and that NBC is serious about doing what Apple did with Messi, we got to figure out how to get people behind our pay wall at Peacock. It also is going to be on NBC, but we have to have valuable things that we can hide somewhere and make people pay for it.” As per the former ESPN employee, this seems to be a ploy of the network to add more subscribers as it suffers losses.
The reports from this year’s Q1 add more context to the podcaster’s statement. Peacock, the NBCUniversal streamer under parent Comcast, managed to narrow down its loss to $215 million, from a staggering $639 million in the year-ago period. Their overall revenue rose 16 percent to $1.2 billion, and Peacock also ended March 2025 with 41 million paying subscribers. Because of this reported reason, Le Batard is not interested in hearing what MJ has to say.
“I am not enthused in any way to hear a single sentence that Michael Jordan has to say about anything.”
“I am not enthused in any way to hear a single sentence that Michael Jordan has to say about anything.” pic.twitter.com/dvngtQwVjo
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) May 20, 2025
His co-hosts also don’t believe it would be an in-house broadcasting job like Inside the NBA. So, they fully expect a limited role for the North Carolina alum for the upcoming season. However, they are not the only ones.
Michael Jordan’s new role has divided opinion amongst the fan favorite duo
Arguably one of the greats of all time is making a return, and yet there are questions about his role. The surprise from NBC about the role could be a marketing ploy to generate more buzz. But currently, this strategy is leading to many questions about the move in the first place. Not completely on board with this idea is Charles Barkley. Yes, the same man whose opinion caused friction between them.
“I have no idea what Michael’s going to do. I don’t think he’s going to do a lot. Well, first of all, I know he’s not, I know he’s not going to do a lot. I was 100% shocked, uh, but I don’t think he’s going to do a lot period,” TNT analyst Chuck spoke to the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. See, Sir Charles feels that golfing and NASCAR will take up Jordan’s time. Yet, Shaquille O’Neal feels otherwise. “First of all, if anybody says Michael Jordan is hating, you’re an idiot. This man is the only man on earth with G19 classification…”
This was Shaq’s response to Ashley Nevel to defend the 6x NBA champion’s role with NBC. Currently, the role is widely speculated. Some think the daily broadcast is a no-go; instead, it could be an edited program where the NBA icon speaks to the current stars about the game. So, whose side are you on with respect to the NBC and Michael Jordan partnership?
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