Reports emerged Wednesday suggesting that NBC’s one-year relationship with Michael Jordan is coming to an end. The reaction to that news was almost universally dismissive.
Jordan is reportedly not expected to return as a “special contributor” to NBC’s NBA coverage after one season. That news was mocked across social media, as Jordan’s role essentially wound up being to sit for an interview that was broken down into multiple segments.
Damn, he wasn't free for one single day again? https://t.co/dJMZxEPxJR
— B.W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) August 26, 2026
Hard to use the verb return here – it suggests he was a part of the coverage to begin with. https://t.co/bGbLOVbdFK
— Alex Sherman (@sherman4949) August 26, 2026
No more stretching out one interview…… what will we do with ourselves? https://t.co/aMsDJvJaHb
— Strictly 4 My X’ers (@Lizzs_Lockeroom) August 26, 2026
When it was initially announced that Jordan would be on NBC as a “special contributor,” many people anticipated that he would appear occasionally throughout the ceiling to weigh in on the NBA. The actual reality was that he sat for one interview with Mike Tirico in which he opined on broader topics, and it was edited to air over multiple weeks. That drew some backlash from viewers who had expected a bit more than that.
Some fans even found some irony in Jordan’s role in light of some of the remarks he made during that interview.
Fans do want to hear Jordan’s thoughts on the modern NBA. If all he is willing to do is sit for one interview and talk about them broadly, however, there probably is not much ground that could be covered by bringing that back for another season.
