When Magic Johnson speaks on business today, the world listens. But in his own words, one of his biggest lessons came from a mistake he made before his NBA career even began.
On the Earn Your Leisure show, Johnson revealed that when he was 19 years old, fresh off beating Larry Bird in the 1979 NCAA Championship game, he was courted by multiple shoe companies.
"Well, along my journey and along all of our journeys, we're all going to make a mistake and we might make two mistakes, right?"
"But my first mistake was when I was actually 19 years old. I had just won the national championship and I beat that dude named Bird. I don't know if you ever heard of him. And so all the shoe companies came to recruit me to sign with them."
"And this is why this conference is so important, because Converse offered me the most money. And so when you Black and you broke, you take the most money, right? And so I decided to go with Converse."
"But Phil Knight came in and he said, 'I can't offer you the same amount of money as Converse, but I can give you something called stock.' And I passed on the stock, not knowing anything about stock at 19 years old. You know how much money 46 years later that stock would be worth today? A $1.5 billion."
"So I wish I was this urban back when I was 19 years old. But let me just say to all of us, make sure we educate ourselves about equity, about stock. You know, we want to own. And so I didn't know anything about it, but God put me in a position to make up for it, right? I'm doing okay."
While Johnson missed out on the Nike windfall, he went on to craft one of the most successful post-playing business careers in sports history.
Through Magic Johnson Enterprises, he built an empire across real estate, entertainment, and food service. His most famous partnership was with Starbucks, where he convinced founder Howard Schultz to open stores in inner cities.
That venture alone reportedly earned Johnson over $100 million when he sold his share in 2010. He also partnered with T.G.I. Friday’s, 24 Hour Fitness, and Sony Theaters to bring businesses into underserved communities.
But his biggest splash has come in sports ownership. Johnson is part of the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have since become one of the most valuable franchises in Major League Baseball.
He’s also co-owner of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, part of the MLS club LAFC, and most recently joined Josh Harris’s group that purchased the Washington Commanders of the NFL in 2023.
His philosophy, as he explained, is not only about the money but about having “a seat at the table.”
Johnson stresses ownership and equity as the key to long-term success, a sharp pivot from the decision he made as a teenager to take Converse’s short-term cash.
What’s most remarkable is how Johnson turned what could have been a lifetime regret into fuel for a different kind of empire. From nearly losing out on $1.5 billion in Nike stock to building billion-dollar businesses, Magic Johnson’s journey is a blueprint in resilience, learning, and the power of betting on ownership.