Michael Jordan awarded $8.9M in lawsuit against defunct grocer

An Illinois court has ordered supermarket chain Safeway to pay NBA legend Michael Jordan $8.9 million.

Jordan sued grocer Dominick's Finer Foods for using his image in a 2009 magazine ad without his permission. Dominick's, now defunct, was purchased by Safeway in 1998, leaving it on the hook for the payout.

The ad in question congratulated Jordan for his induction into the Hall of Fame, using a silhouette similar to his brand's logo, as well as his jersey number. Jordan told the court Tuesday that he values his image "very preciously," and was seeking to "protect my likeness, my image."

Lawyers for Safeway argued that the ad only had a value of $126,900, according to ESPN, but a sports economist testified that the fair market value was closer to $10 million.

It seems Jordan is making an exception to his rule of doing no deal for less than $10 million, as the six-time NBA champion seemed satisfied in a statement released to ESPN:

I'm very pleased with today's verdict. No one - whether or not they're a public figure - should have to worry about their identity being used without their permission. This case was not about the money, as I plan to donate the proceeds to charity. It was about honesty and integrity. I hope this case sends a clear message, both here in the United States and around the world, that I will continue to be vigilant about protecting my name and identity. I also hope the size of the monetary award will deter others from using someone else's identity and believing they will only pay a small penalty. I'd like to thank the members of the jury for their time and deliberation.

His comments about image theft abroad are a not-so-subtle nod to the July ruling from a Chinese court, which found that Jordan was not entitled to damages from apparel company Qiaodan, which more regularly and egregiously bogarted his image.

Dominick's only had two customers redeem the coupon in question, as it appeared in a commemorative issue of Sports Illustrated, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.