For Michael Jordan, second place has never been a finish line, even when the game is not basketball. That mentality carried him from the hardwood to the open ocean, where his legendary competitiveness had a new playground. The tides have changed, Jordan has another shot at his face. The waves don’t discriminate based on resumes, and the sea is not sympathetic to near misses. For arguably the greatest competitor of all, the question isn’t about how he lost but about how far he will go to regain it in this new competition.
Jimmy Johnson, the sportfishing showman and Miami‘s former coach, just confirmed that the 2026 JJFISHWEEKFL is set, coming your way in Florida for the grand 15th anniversary party. On his official Instagram account, the former coach dropped the competition’s teaser video, encouraging the participants to enter their names for the super week. Three tournaments. One unforgettable week. An open invitation for Michael Jordan or anyone to plunge back in, body and spirit. The “Quest for the Ring” Billfish Championship, the National Sportfish Championship (a meat-fish tournament), and the high-end Hard Rock Invitational all allied with over-the-top Seminole Hard Rock & Casino hospitality in Hollywood, FL.
As shown in the teaser, Johnson talked to Todd Roy, the President of Fish Hard Events, and said, “Well, Todd, we’re 15…..This year is not just about the fishing; it’s about honoring a legacy, 15 years of unforgettable moments at J.J. Fish Week. Are we ready?” Multiple guests who entered the screen in their luxurious cars said the same thing, “I’m in.” But is MJ in, especially after he lost last time, and went with a prize money of $400,000 for being second? Well, after all, this year’s prize money, per Johnson, is “a guaranteed $1Mill+ purse, the largest guaranteed purse now 9 yrs running!” For Jordan, it’s perhaps the ideal platform: big stakes, large purse, public scratches to itch. And all these on Thursday, March 5 & Friday, March 6, 2026.
“I’ve got the team….. It’s a ruby red year 2026 and we’re coming for you,” Johnson’s enthusiasm crackled through each sentence. “We’re coming back once again with three tournaments over one week of fun. The Quest for the Ring Million Dollar Guaranteed Catch and Release Tournament, JJ Sport Fish, our Meat Fish Tournament, and the Invite-Only VIP Hard Rock Invitational with new perks for early registration and three counties to fish in from the Keys to Palm Beach.”
For Jordan, the opportunity to rejoin a competitive stage, even one far removed from the arena, is a siren song. The “Quest for the Ring” is not in this context, about rings on his fingers—it’s about taking land, about control, about insisting the world and he know that one mistake does not make the story forever. Deep-sea sportfishing is savage and sublime. A test of patience, strategy, brawn, and finesse. It’s a place where a wealthy legend may be face-to-face with the strength of nature and, maybe, recapture lost fortune in style.
Since its modest start, JJ Fish Week has become the year’s sportfishing destination. What began years ago as a humble get-together of fishermen along the coast of Florida has escalated into a full-scale extravaganza. Three tournaments, one frenzied week of wild extravagance, sparkling bashes, and round-the-clock high-roller intensity. Whether it’s the thrill of catching and releasing billfish or hauling in trophy-class tuna, kingfish, wahoo, dolphin, and cobia from Key Largo to Palm Beach, the event has carved out a reputation as the biggest, boldest fish fest in sport. And Jordan gets his chance to enroll into the competition once again, but this time to win the first prize.
Michael Jordan lost last time
In the competitive world of sportfishing, sometimes a pound can make a difference between winning and losing. That’s what Michael Jordan learned during the previous Jimmy Johnson’s Fishing Week. His sportfishing yacht, Catch 23, ended up as runner-up in the tournament competition. Jordan’s team brought in a 71-pound white marlin, a staggering catch that delighted the docks. But fate was cruel. Dan Gough’s team reeled in a 72-pounder, edging Jordan by the slimmest of margins. The result was crushing: Jordan’s team received an impressive $400,000 for being second, but the winners reaped an enormous $3.91 million prize. For a player who built his legacy on clutch games and championship finishes, losing by one pound stung, even though money couldn’t soften.
That brush with disaster was the ultimate definition of a “7-figure setback.” It wasn’t a matter of a lack of heart or want; Jordan’s team was just as hungry and well-prepared as there ever was, and just a matter of those thin margins that control sport at its highest level. Around one pound stood between a multimillion-dollar victory tour and a consolation check. The loss was a bitter reminder that greatness does not always come as easily to a six-time NBA champion whose willpower once bent basketball history. To Jordan, the defeat was not just financial. It was symbolic: to have come so close to glory but still fall short cut both pride and competitive ruthlessness.
And yet, this is the appeal of sportfishing and competition overall: the tides change, fortunes shift, and the potential for redemption always reappears. Jordan is eyeing the 2026 JJ Fish Week now as something more than simply another tournament. It’s an opportunity for revenge. After all, unfinished business has long propelled his stories, from NBA championships to baseball diamonds to golf courses. This time, though, the quest for triumph occurs on the ocean. If Jordan does return, expect each weigh-in and each cast to be saddled by that single missing pound.
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