Michael Jordan Settles With Jewel, Dominick's

Michael Jordan has reached a settlement with Dominick’s and Jewel-Osco grocery chains in the six-year-old case of his likeness being used in a pair of Sports Illustrated ads.

Estee Portnoy, a longtime adviser of the basketball legend, told the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday the settlement had been reached in both lawsuits and that Jordan will donate the net proceeds to Chicago-area charities.

Albertson’s, the parent company of both grocers, confirmed the deal.

“We are pleased to have reached a resolution of these matters,” Brian Dowling, vice president of public affairs for the company, said in a statement.

In August, Jordan won an $8.9 million verdict against Dominick’s in a Chicago U.S. District Court at the end of a two-week trial. That case stemmed from a Hall-of-Fame congratulatory ad in a 2009 limited-edition of Sports Illustrated in which Dominick’s used Jordan’s name and number “23,” along with a $2-off coupon for a Rancher’s Reserve steak. Dominick’s was found to have violated the Illinois Right of Publicity Act.

“This was never about the money,” Jordan said at the time, promising to donate all money from the suit to charity.

A similar case against Jewel had been scheduled to begin on Dec. 8, but a judge canceled it on Friday. Also following Jordan’s Hall-of-Fame induction in 2009, Jewel had published an ad featuring a pair of red-and-white sneakers with the number “23” on the tongues. It called Jordan “a shoe in” and saluted “a fellow Chicagoan who was ‘just around the corner’ for so many years.”

All future court proceedings in both cases have been canceled, but terms of the settlement have not been announced. Both sides noted that confidentiality is required for it to move forward.

No word if part of the deal was that Jewel or Dominick’s had to buy Jordan’s gigantic mansion in Highland Park, which, despite being awesome, no one seems to want.

more via the Chicago Sun-Times

Photo: Wikimedia Commons