Published 18:55 IST, May 7th 2020
Michael Jordan nearly chose NFL over MLB after retiring in 1993: David Halberstam
In David Halberstam's book Playing For Keeps, Halberstam mentions a 1992 interview where Michael Jordan talked about joining NFL and playing football.
On October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan announced his sudden decision to retire from the NBA after winning his third straight title for the Chicago Bulls. Jordan would then go on to play baseball for 18 months with White Sox's minor league system before returning to the NBA. Michael Jordan's ten-part mini docu-series The Last Dance will be covering Jordan's baseball stint in the upcoming episodes this Sunday (Monday IST).
Michael Jordan NFL: Could there have been a Michael Jordan football career?
Before Michael Jordan signed a contract with the White Sox, he had mentioned considering a career in football. In David Halberstam's book Playing For Keeps, Halberstam mentions an interview with Jordan which discusses a Michael Jordan football career. The interview was a part of the Sports Illustrated feature in January 1992 and talked about a Michael Jordan football career after his time in the NBA.
Also read | Michael Jordan baseball: Why did Michael Jordan wear 45 after returning to the NBA post his baseball stint?
In his book, Halberstam wrote about Jordan talking in detail about wanting to try major-league baseball and his dream of batting against a few of baseball's most skilled power pitchers. Jordan has also talked about trying professional football back then, which he considered as a greater challenge. He even revealed that he had talked about a career in NFL with his friend Richard Dent, who was Chicago Bears defensive end back then. He would apparently be a wide receiver but would not go after passes came through the middle.
When he was young, Jordan also played football along with baseball and basketball. Reports suggest that if Jordan would have found a way 'to break containment at the line of scrimmage', he would have been a threat to players back in the 90s due to his size. Jordan was six-foot-six and 218 pounds back then.
On the other hand, Michael Irvin, who is one of the most skilled receivers in that era, was six-foot-two and 207 pounds. Reports also state that while he would have had to work on his skills a lot, his size would have made him a 'nightmare' for defensive backs. If Jordan would have ended up playing NFL in the 90s, he would have faced players like Deion Sanders, Darrell Green and Rod Woodson.
Michael Jordan MLB stats
Michael Jordan played baseball for over a year before returning to the NBA. As per Michael Jordan MLB stats, he signed with the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 base on balls, and 11 errors.
Updated 18:55 IST, May 7th 2020