All you need to know about Sonny Vaccaro

May 2024 · 2 minute read

Sonny Vaccaro is a $5 million net-worth American businessman and former sports marketing executive. Sonny Vaccaro is most remembered for signing Michael Jordan to his first shoe contract during his time at Nike. After leaving Nike, Vaccaro worked for Adidas and subsequently Reebok. Vaccaro was also instrumental in convincing Kobe Bryant to sign with Adidas.

Who is Sonny Vaccaro?

Sonny Vaccaro was born in Trafford, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1939. Sonny began his career as a teacher before moving on to organize high school all-star games throughout the 1970s. In 1965, Vaccaro was a co-founder of the first national high school All-Star Game.

How old is Sonny Vaccaro?

He is currently 84 years old.

What is Sonny Vaccaro’s net worth?

He is estimated to be worth $5 Million.

What is Sonny Vaccaro’s career?

Sonny Vaccaro’s extensive network of collegiate basketball connections aided him in landing his job at Nike. Nike w as a running shoe business aiming to get into the basketball industry at the time.

Vaccaro was the first to propose paying college coaches more and providing them with free footwear in exchange for their players wearing sneakers during games. He went after coaching giants like John Thompson, Jerry Tarkanian, Lefty Driesell, and Jim Valvano, and suddenly a team expense was cut from the budget and new personal revenue sources were created.

With March Madness becoming a TV phenomenon and Vaccaro’s signature maneuver of bringing Michael Jordan on board with Nike in 1984, the basketball footwear industry exploded and took the industry by storm.

After leaving Nike, Vaccaro worked for Adidas and subsequently Reebok. Vaccaro was also instrumental in convincing Kobe Bryant to sign with Adidas. From 1984 to 2007, he organized the ABCD All-America Camp, which promoted high school basketball stars.

Players at the camp included LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Sebastian Telfair, and Dwight Howard. Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Vince Carter, Rasheed Wallace, and Tracy McGrady have all competed in the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic.

Sonny Vaccaro later in his career spoke out against the NCAA’s treatment of college students and pushed for their fair share. He assisted in the recruitment of Ed O’Bannon for what became the O’Bannon vs. NCAA lawsuit, which allowed the athletes to be reimbursed. Vaccaro laid the blame squarely on the universities and shoe firms, claiming that they were the root of the problem.

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