CHICAGO -- A jury on Friday ordered a defunct grocery store chain to pay Michael Jordan $8.9 million for using his name without permission.
It was a big win for the former Chicago Bulls basketball player, who was smiling after the verdict was announced Friday night.
Jurors had to calculate how much the now-defunct grocery chain Dominick's should pay Jordan for invoking his name in an ad without permission. They sent one note to the judge, saying: "We need a calculator."
In his closing argument, Jordan attorney Frederick Sperling appealed to city pride, saying about Jordan as he sat nearby: "He gave us six (NBA) championships."
Jordan's lawyer suggested the ad was worth $10 million.
Dominick's attorney Steven Mandell said he's as proud as anyone about the championships Jordan brought to Chicago. But he said jurors should award him no more than $126,000.
Jordan testified earlier in the week that his image is precious to him, which is why he filed a lawsuit against Dominick's Finer Foods, which has acknowledged it wasn't authorized to use Jordan's image in a 2009 magazine ad. One witness testified that Jordan made $100 million from his identity last year, even though he last played in the NBA in 2003.
The ad, which ran in a commemorative edition of Sports Illustrated, congratulated Jordan on his Hall of Fame induction and included a $2-off coupon above a photograph of a sizzling steak.
