It's no secret that Michael Jordan's done pretty well for himself in the business world since ending his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards in 2003.

View photos Michael Jordan makes $875,000 just for standing there (probably). (Photo by Jordan Brand via Getty Images) More

The legendary guard is a literal billionaire, having used his significant sway as an endorser to build his own apparel empire with Nike's Jordan Brand and parlayed that windfall into an ownership stake with the Charlotte Bobcats, now re-christened the Hornets, which Forbes earlier this year valued at $725 million, a significant increase over the reported $175 million M.J. paid Robert Johnson to become the controlling owner of the franchise back in 2010. (Of note: the NBA recently told Mike he has to separate his church from his state when it comes to Jordan Brand dealings with NBA players.)

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During a report this weekend on the mammoth money invested in the shoe game and a Brooklyn Musem exhibit dedicated to the art of sneaker culture, PBS' "NewsHour" provided pretty remarkable way to crystallize just how financially successful Jordan's post-playing career has been:

View photos Well, that puts a pretty fine point on it. (Image via PBS NewsHour) More

Yep, that's right: M.J. made more money from sneaker sales last year than he did from his on-court work during one of the greatest professional careers in the history of sports. (Woe unto those who ever doubted whether it was the shoes.)

As many have noted, there's a caveat here. The total amount of Jordan's salaries during his 15 years with the Bulls and Wizards — whether the right number's just over $90.2 million, according to Basketball-Reference.com, or $94 million, according to Forbes — isn't adjusted for inflation; the $3.25 million Jordan made during the 1991-92 season, for example, had the same buying power as $5.69 million today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI Inflation Calculator. (What's really funny: if you try to find out how much M.J.'s record-setting $33.1 million salary for the '97-'98 season would be worth in 2015 dollars, the calculator responds, "Error: Please use values less than 10,000,000." I'm sure Jerry Reinsdorf would agree.)

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Jordan continues to rake in career-topping cash year after year because his brand — the one he so determinedly defends against dilution — still stands unconquered on the sneaker market, according to Forbes' Kurt Badenhousen:

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