
Years ago, Magic Johnson had the opportunity to become a billionaire, but early in his NBA career, he turned down a lucrative offer that was actually a disguised offer. The legendary basketball player recently confessed that he is still furious with himself for foolishly pursuing quick money when he had no concept of the long money game.
Johnson appeared on the “All The Smoke” podcast on Saturday (Jan. 14), and in a video that was shared on social media, he talked about his career both on and off the court. Johnson shot to fame after the Los Angeles Lakers selected him in the 1979 NBA Draft. The 6′ 9″ basketball star helped usher in the team’s “Showtime Era” alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott, and others. Additionally, he did something no one else has ever done: he helped them win the NBA Championship in his rookie season. He was immediately in demand, and businesses flocked to him in an effort to sponsor him as an athlete.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee recalled, “Here I am just winning a national championship against Larry Bird, and three companies came in—Converse, Adidas, and Nike.” The three-time NBA MVP went on to say that Nike was only a few years old. Converse consequently made me the highest offer. As a result, you take the money when you’re poor.
The business tycoon previously disclosed that Converse offered him $100,000 for each year of his contract. However, he would not receive any cash up front as a result of Nike’s offer. He recalled that Phil Knight, a co-founder of Nike, entered the room and said, “Hey, I can’t offer you the same type of money, but I can offer you stock.” According to Cassius, Nike was prepared to give him $1 for each pair of shoes sold as well as 100,000 shares of the company’s stock. One share was worth about $0.18 back then, which is nothing in comparison to its current value of $128.85.
Johnson sighed in frustration, his hands on his head, and gritted his teeth. The retired legend remarked, “I wasn’t [trying to hear that] and I didn’t know nothin’ about it. “My family was not well off. When you don’t come from money, that is one thing that can hurt you. I didn’t even know what stocks were back then. I avoided the stocks as a result. Can you imagine what that stock would have been worth today in 45 years, $5 billion,” he continued.
He made light of the choice while on a promotional tour for his Apple TV docuseries, “They Call Me Magic,” last year. “Every time I consider that, it kills me. The wealthy businessman remarked, “Man, Michael Jordan would have been making me so much money. Johnson has still amassed a fortune through his various endeavors and has continued to be a prominent figure in the sports world, despite possibly missing out on a ton of money.

Toddler Calls 911 Accidentally and Saves Dad's Life
A father from Florida collapsed on the floor during a medical episode. Fortunately, his toddler son dialed 911 by accident and saved his life. An officer from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office arrived quickly and administered first aid before transporting him to a nearby hospital.

Aitzaz Hasan, Pakistani school boy who sacrificed his life from suicide bomber
Aitzaz Hasan, a 15 year old Pakistani school boy, sacrificed his life while preventing a suicide bomber from entering his school of 2000 students. His father said "My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children."

A U.S. Submarine Collides with a Japanese Fishing Ship in 2001
In 1998, 14-year-old Michael Crowe was charged with the murder of his sister. The police started targeting him after he seemed “distant and preoccupied” when his sister’s body was discovered, and during interrogation, police coercion led him to make a false confession. He was later declared factually innocent and the family won a lawsuit of $7.25 million in 2011.

The Crystal Maiden of the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave
Located in Belize, there is a cave where the remnants of ancient Maya human sacrifices can be witnessed. However, reaching the back of the cave system requires swimming, wading through a cave river, and crawling through narrow, uneven rocky passages in darkness. Once there, visitors can walk among the numerous corpses of sacrifice victims, including The Crystal Maiden, an 18-year-old whose skeleton has become calcified to the point of sparkling.

Neerja Bhanot, the braveheart flight attendant was never run away from a crisis
Neeja Bhanot, a 22 year old Indian flight attendant who helped hides 41 American passports aboard a hijacked plane. She died shielding three children from gunfire and was posthumously awarded bravery medals from India, Pakistan, and the United States.

Whang-od Oggay, The legendary tattoo artist from the Philippines
This is Whang-od Oggay, a 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines. She is often described as the last and oldest Kalinga tattoo artist, and has been performing the traditional art of hand-tapped tattoos since the age of 15

Why Is the N Lowercase in 7-Eleven?
7-ELEVEN is thought to have a lowercase "n" in its logo because the company president's wife believed that a logo with all caps would seem harsh, while a lowercase "n" would make it more graceful.

A man who was saved from committing suicide 16 years ago now assists people dealing with mental health issues
Kevin Berthia traveled to the Golden Gate Bridge in 2005 to commit suicide. He ended up spending 92 minutes on the edge of the bridge talking to officer Kevin Briggs about his life. In much better circumstances, they cross paths at the same bridge ten years later.

Baby Lynlee 'born twice' after life-saving tumour surgery
Baby Lynlee was "born twice." First, surgeons brought her out of the womb to remove a spinal tumor. After the successful surgery, she was placed back and born again as a healthy baby girl.

A three-year-old boy discovers a $4 million pendant in England
A $4 million 16th-century gold pendant was discovered in 2010 by a three-year-old boy using his father's metal detector.

The Man Who Kept a “Gold” Rock for Years—Only to Discover It Was a 4.6-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Worth a Fortune
A man cherished a heavy 17-kilogram rock for years, believing it to be solid gold. The surprising twist? Experts later revealed it was a rare, 4.6-billion-year-old iron meteorite—an ancient cosmic relic worth far more than gold. Dive into the fascinating story of this celestial treasure and what makes it so valuable.

Man's Blood Helped Save Millions of Babies
Australian blood donor James Harrison has been one of our most impressive and valued donors, having donated for 60 years. Know his story, how he was a pioneer of our Anti-D program, and why this matters.

Drive-Thru Weddings in Las Vegas: The Ultimate Fast, Fun, and Legal Way to Say “I Do”
Inspired by fast food convenience, Las Vegas offers drive-thru weddings where couples can legally marry in under 5 minutes—without leaving their car. Some chapels even offer curbside Elvis impersonators and 24/7 ceremonies, complete with “to-go” marriage licenses.

Smart girl saves her family more than 100 people in 2004 tsunami
In 2004, a 10-year-old girl saved her family and 100 other tourists from the Asian tsunami because she had learned about the giant waves in a geography lesson, it has emerged.

Man uses first-class ticket to eat for free at airport's VIP lounge for almost a year
A Chinese man purchased a First Class Ticket, which included admission to a VIP Lounge with free food. Over the course of a year, he rescheduled over 300 times in order to receive over 300 free dinners. When questioned, it was discovered that he is rescheduling his reservation to another date after eating. He eventually cancelled the ticket and got a full refund.

A subway in Chongqing passes through a building (images)
A train has been constructed through an apartment complex in Chongqing, China. The 19-story residential structure is not only passed by the light rail passenger train, but it also serves as a transit stop. Apartment residents can simply get a ride from the sixth to eighth levels.

Oreo builds asteroid-proof bunker to protect its cookies and recipes
In October 2020, Oreo builds a concrete bunker in Svalbard, Norway, to protect their recipes in case of an asteroid impact. The vault also contains Oreos wrapped in Mylar and vials of milk powder.

Smart guy brings life-sized cutout of his late mother to his graduation
Even though that his mother passed away in 2016, a young man had a clever idea to make a life-size cutout of her and bring it to the event so that she could attend his graduation ceremony.

World's largest iceberg breaks off Antarctica
In 1986, the iceberg known as A23a broke away from the Antarctic coast. However, it quickly grounded in the Weddell Sea, effectively turning into an ice island.

Inspiring story of Emma Schols who Saved Her Six Kids From A Burning House
Emma Schols, a Swedish mother, saved all six of her children from a devastating house fire in 2019, running from room to room through flames while bleeding and losing skin. Against all odds, she survived with severe burns covering 90% of her body.

Woman survives skydiving accident, discovers she's pregnant
2005, a woman performing her first solo skydive jump survived a parachute malfunction which caused her to slam face first into a parking lot at 50 MPH. During surgery doctors discovered she was pregnant. She made a full recovery and the baby was fine.

The rescuing hug - the touching story of twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson
Brielle and Kyrie Jackson’s lifesaving hug was captured when Brielle was struggling to breathe and going blue. As a final option, the nurse deviated from protocol and placed them in the same incubator. Kyrie wrapped her arm around her sister, who immediately began to stabilize

Tourist in China left hanging from 330-ft-high glass bridge as wind blows away its panels
The popular tourist attraction glass-bottomed bridge was shattered after a strong wind blew away its panels. A Chinese tourist was left stranded in strong winds 330 feet up on a glass-bottomed bridge.

Australian man dies, comes back to life, and wins the lottery twice
Bill Morgan, an Australian, is a man who has beat the odds. He escaped death by surviving a horrific automobile accident and heart attack before collapsing into a coma and going on to win the lotto twice. He went from losing virtually everything to winning far more than he could have imagined.

How hero parrot saved little girl who was choking on her breakfast
In 2008 Quaker parrot Willie alerted his owner Megan Howard when the little girl she was babysitting began to choke. Howard was in the bathroom when the parrot repeatedly yelled "Mama! Baby!" flapping his wings. Megan rushed and performed the Heimlich maneuver, saving her life. Willie received the Red Cross Animal Lifesaver Award.