Michael Jordan might be the greatest basketball player in history, but there is no doubt he is the greatest athlete endorser of all time.

	Michael Jordan isn't expected to soar like he used to on the court. And he isn't expected to be as active in the marketing arena, either.

No. 23 was the sports marketer's dream. Throughout his career, Jordan's name, image and golden smile could sell virtually anything to anyone. Basketball shoes to overweight, out-of-shape, middle-age men. Underwear to corporate executives. A sports drink to whoever wanted to "Be Like Mike."

Nike made Jordan, then a rookie, its marquee endorser, signing him to a reported five-year, $2.5 million deal in 1984. It was only a matter of time before teenagers were paying $100 for a pair of Air Jordans. Linking Jordan's name and image to its line of sportswear has translated into $5.2 billion in business for Nike, and his worldwide economic impact is believed to have been worth more than $10 billion by 1998, according to Fortune magazine. Jordan, himself, is said to have a net worth of $398 million.

But don't expect the pitchman of old to make a comeback if Jordan returns to the basketball court. While Jordan seems eager to take center stage for the Wizards, indications are he isn't as eager to become the center of attention on Madison Avenue again.

Understandably, the sporting world's best salesman slowed down when he came back from retirement the first time. It seems that after earning salaries of $30 million and $33 million in the 1996-97 and '97-98 seasons, the golden cord of endorsement money has become less and less a motivation for him. Just a year and half ago, Jordan told the Chicago Sun-Times he was "getting totally out of the endorsement aspect of things" when his current contracts expire.

Jordan has kept his word, signing on to few new relationships since then. The exceptions have been few: expansion of his name-brand restaurants, and a three-year deal with Palm Pilot signed earlier this year. And while he filmed a series of MCI commercials that began rolling out July 1, a source close to Jordan said, at least for some companies that he is currently under contract, he will not be involved in new advertising campaigns.

"He didn't want to merely be a pitchman anymore," said Estee Portnoy, vice president of marketing and client services for SFX, the management company that handles Jordan. "He was just saying that, if he signed new deals, he wanted to be involved with companies where he would be involved with the design or usage of the product."

"Michael is not coming back to increase his marketing opportunities or to sell more shoes," Portnoy said. "That's why I think you'll see companies take a back seat approach initially and not make a huge marketing hoopla out of this. Because that's what Michael would want."

'This comeback isn't about marketing'
Some companies that still have Jordan under contract may decide to move on from him, as well.

Gatorade's 10-year deal with Jordan expires at the end of the year. Already, Gatorade has evolved its marketing campaign to include others beyond Jordan, its first athlete spokesman. The new generation of spokespeople includes Vince Carter, Mia Hamm, Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter, and with them Gatorade's "Be Like Mike" slogan has been transitioned into "Is it in you?"

	“	Maybe one of the most authentic things for us to do is nothing. Sometimes you can be overly contrived and it seems like at this moment in his career, we might just let the moment and experience speak for itself. ”
		— Gatorade spokesperson P.J. Sinopoli

"Our relationship will continue to evolve as it has evolved throughout the years we've grown up together," Gatorade spokesperson P.J. Sinopoli said. "Michael and Gatorade are inextricably connected, and we'll continue to be associated with him in the future whether it's a formal or informal relationship. A lot of our future will be dictated by what Michael wants."

A month ago, Gatorade reportedly was set to run television ads to capitalize on Jordan's comeback. But given Jordan's wish to keep his return low-key in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the prospect of war looming, things have changed.

"It's changed in light of the national situation and it's changed because this comeback isn't about marketing, it's about his will and desire," Sinopoli said.

"Maybe one of the most authentic things for us to do is nothing," Sinopoli said. "Sometimes you can be overly contrived and it seems like at this moment in his career, we might just let the moment and experience speak for itself."

Rayovac won't be doing any "Welcome Back, Michael" advertising, either.

The company's relationship with Jordan began in 1995, when he unretired the first time. Rayovac had about 15 percent of the battery market share back then. With Jordan as its pitchman, it eventually cut into the market share of industry leaders Duracell and Energizer, said Steve Shanesy, Rayovac's executive vice president of global brand management.

"Because we were third in the market, people would always wonder, 'Is a Rayovac battery as good as a Duracell or an Energizer battery?' " Shanesy said. "Having Michael say, 'Rayovac has all the power of the other guys,' helped us gain credibility, since people thought 'That has to be true since Michael wouldn't be a part of it if it wasn't.'"

Although Jordan is still under contract with Rayovac, the company is reviewing whether it will utilize him in future efforts.

"Our seven-year association with him was obviously very beneficial, but our future product strategy may be moving in different directions," Shanesy said.

Rayovac's focus on new technology, like its one-hour battery recharger, requires more in-depth explanation to consumers, something Shanesy said might not be ideal for an athlete endorser.

'We're not sitting around waiting'
In exchange for an ownership stake, Jordan licensed his name to Peter Glazier, who opened Michael Jordan's Steakhouse in New York's Grand Central Terminal shortly after Jordan's last game in 1998. While Glazier said good food and good location keep the customers flowing, Jordan's name obviously helps to stop tourists as they pass through the train station.

"When we did the deal with Michael, Michael Jordan was No. 1 in the Q factor in the world," Glazier said. "More people knew Michael Jordan than knew the Pope."

The Q Ratings, a poll designed to measure a person's widespread familiarity, indicates that Jordan is still the most recognizable athlete in the United States, according to its most recent poll in March.

Ninety percent of sports fans queried say they know who Jordan is, and 75 percent of the general population polled indicated it knew him, said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations/TVQ. Schafer's media and consumer research firm generates the Q Ratings.

Jordan's comeback is certainly welcomed by Glazier, who recently closed his Michael Jordan Steakhouse memorabilia store when sales continued to decline after his retirement more than two years ago.

"I think that his coming back to play will certainly help us. And I think that if he plays well, it will help us more," Glazier said. Glazier probably needs Jordan more than ever since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The restaurant is located in a large New York landmark, and patrons could be concerned about their security.

"Every company that has a relationship with him now has to want him back because he sells. He's a better pitchman than (Wendy's founder) Dave Thomas or (former Chrysler chairman) Lee Iacocca," said Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic and author of "How to Be Like Mike: Life Lessons About Basketball's Best."

The closing of the Jordan-licensed restaurant in Chicago in December 1999 and its subsequent bankruptcy didn't take Jordan out of the business. Jordan's return to basketball should help business in his other restaurants, one in Chapel Hill, N.C., called "23," and a new restaurant and sports bar at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Connecticut, which is scheduled to open in October.

The revenue generated by Nike's Jordan brand, which launched eight months before his second retirement, is expected to exceed $300 million this year. Some of the new Jordan basketball shoes have sold just as well as earlier versions did at the peak of his career, according to Greg Johnson, marketing manager for the Jordan brand.

"When he retired, it might have been bleak or dim for us," Johnson said. "But it also allowed the brand to evolve beyond the basketball court, while he selected good people to be part of the brand like Ray Allen, Derek Jeter and Randy Moss. All of them gave us a living, breathing component on the court and on the fields."

For Nike, Jordan's return could help neutralize Reebok's recent marketing assault on NBA fans. After Allen Iverson, it's marquee endorser, won the NBA's Most Valuable Player last season, Reebok moved quickly to sign a 10-year, $250 million apparel deal with the league during the offseason.

"I think Nike (out of all his endorsers) stands to benefit the most from Michael's return," said Bob Williams, president of Burns Sports, a company that matches advertisers with sports figures for endorsements. "Short term, we're going to see the quickest increase for a company like Nike in terms of sales, because it's the type of product that people will run out and buy immediately."

Said Johnson: "Obviously there's some upside (to his returning). But we're not sitting around waiting for that."

Apparently not. Air Jordan XVII will be released in February, possibly with a CD that will explain how the shoe is made.

Because of the recent terrorist attacks, the declining state of the U.S. economy and the prospect of war, Jordan's comeback, from an economic perspective, couldn't have come at a better time.

The NBA's television ratings likely will increase, licensing revenues likely will soar and sold out road games against the Wizards are but a forgone conclusion. And expect a nice bump in sales for companies that can entice Jordan to make commercials for them.

Darren Rovell covers sports business for ESPN.com. He can be reached at darren.rovell@espn.com.