Why Michael Jordan once 'threw away' cheque worth $10m and never cashed it

He's never needed it given his incredible net worth and business ventures but Michael Jordan once reportedly threw away a check for $10 million.

Jordan spent the bulk of his NBA career with the Chicago Bulls, winning six NBA championships - two separate three-peats either side of a brief switch to baseball.

But he actually finished his career with the Washington Wizards. His Airness became president of basketball operations and a part owner in 2000 and then in September 2001, performed a retirement U-turn and played until he was 40.

Even though he wasn't get any younger, Jordan still did his thing on the court and averaged 20 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in his final campaign.

He was still demanding of his teammates but the approach did not work, as per former Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas.

It got to the point where majority owner Abe Pollin realised he had to cut his losses with Jordan, who had a lot of power and influence in the basketball operations for three-and-a-half- seasons.

Image: Getty

"You're talking about MJ still. Mental MJ, too," Arenas told Vlad TV, via Basketball Network.

"The Last Dance MJ. The mentality; those young kids wasn't ready for. They're looking at this icon who becomes this bad guy to them.

"When I went there that was one of my questions. My dad’s question like, 'Hey, what's up with the Jordan thing? Why didn't you sign him back?' And Abe Pollin was like, 'I love basketball, I love the players. So, I asked the players what did they want. The players said they didn't want Jordan back'."

After Jordan called it a day, it looked as though Pollin was going to bring him back to as the president of basketball operations.

Instead, he got rid of Jordan for good, feeling as though his presence was stopping the building of a "healthy atmosphere to produce a happy organisation.

or a winning team."

Image: Getty

The decision was communicated in a meeting and Pollin signed a $10 million compensation cheque for Jordan.

But deeming Pollin's actions "callous", Jordan refused the money and promptly exited.

Arenas revealed: "He (Pollin) was like, 'Yeah, I wrote MJ a check, $10 million, saying thank you for your services.' MJ threw that check and said 'f*ck off' and drove out of the arena."

Jordan later became the majority owner of hometown franchise Charlotte Hornets in 2010 before dropping back to a minority share with the sale to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall's investment group last year.