What is Tinker Hatfield's Net Worth and Salary?
Tinker Hatfield is an American shoe designer who has a net worth of $25 million. Tinker Hatfield best known for his work on Nike athletic shoes. Notably, he helped design the Air Jordans III through XV, as well as the Air Jordans XX, XXIII, XXV, XX8, XX9, and XXX. Hatfield oversees Nike's "Innovation Kitchen," and is widely considered to be a legend in the design world for his iconic contributions.
Early Life and Education
Tinker Hatfield was born on April 30, 1952 in Hillsboro, Oregon. He has a younger brother named Tobie. As a teenager, Hatfield attended Central Linn High School, where he excelled in athletics. He was a star basketball player, an All-State football running back, and an All-American in hurdles and pole vaulting. In 1970, he was recognized as the top high school athlete in the state of Oregon.
Hatfield went on to attend the University of Oregon, where he continued his track and field career and studied architecture. He set the school record in the pole vault, but his athletic career was abruptly curtailed when he was injured during his sophomore year. Tinker's track and field coach at Oregon was Bill Bowerman, who would soon go on to co-found Nike with another former Oregon athlete, Phil Knight. Hatfield graduated from Oregon in 1977, and subsequently practiced as an architect in Eugene.
Nike Air Max
In 1981, Hatfield joined Nike as a store designer; he began working on shoe design four years later. His first major shoe design was the Air Max 1, released in 1987. Marketed for running, it featured an upper composed of nylon and synthetic felt, as well as a translucent bubble under the heel showcasing Nike's "Air" unit, a urethane pouch filled with pressurized gas. The shoe was followed by the Air Max Light, Air Max III, Air Max 180, and Air Max 93. Several other additions to the line have been released in the decades since.
Air Jordan
Hatfield's most legendary contributions to Nike have been related to the Air Jordan line. He served as the lead designer of Air Jordans III through XV, and also designed the Air Jordans XX, XXIII, XXV, XX8, XX9, and XXX. His first design, the 1988 Air Jordan III, introduced the iconic Jumpman logo. The next one, the Air Jordan IV, was the first of the line to be released on the global market. Michael Jordan wore the shoe when he made the famous shot that won the Chicago Bulls the first round of the NBA playoffs in 1989. For the Air Jordan V in 1990, Hatfield drew inspiration from a WWII Mustang fighter and included a reflective tongue, translucent rubber soles, and lace locks. The shoe appeared often on the television sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," worn by Will Smith's titular character.
In 1999, Hatfield designed the Air Jordan XV, the first one to come out after Jordan's retirement. Inspired by the aircraft prototype X-15, it featured sides made from woven Kevlar fiber. This shoe was Hatfield's least favorite of the series, and the last one he did before returning to design the Air Jordan XX for the shoe's 20th anniversary. He went on to help design the Air Jordans XXV, XX8, XX9, and XXX. The lattermost of those debuted in early 2016 at an exclusive media event in Chicago. It consisted of an upper and outsole similar to the XX9's, plus a combination of performance woven and flyknit materials new to the brand. Overall, Hatfield's contributions to the Air Jordan line have been immeasurable. Phil Knight, co-founder and former CEO of Nike, credits Hatfield's Air Jordan III with saving the company, asserting that the shoe kept Michael Jordan from leaving and signing with Adidas in the late 1980s.
FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
Other Designs
Among his other notable designs, Hatfield designed the Nike Air MAG for the 1989 science-fiction film sequel "Back to the Future Part II," as well as the bat boots worn by Michael Keaton in the superhero films "Batman" and "Batman Returns." Beyond shoes, he created the graphic design on the basketball court at the University of Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena, which opened in 2011. A couple years after that, he worked on Nike and Jordan brand concept car designs for the racing video game "Gran Turismo 6."
Honors and Awards
For his work with Nike, Hatfield was named one of Sportstyle Magazine's most influential people in the sports business in both 1993 and 1996. In 1998, he was included on Fortune magazine's list of the 100 most influential designers of the 20th century. A decade later, Hatfield received the Ellis F. Lawrence Medal from the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. He was also inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his special contributions to sports. In 2019, Hatfield received his own sneaker from Nike.
Personal Life
With his wife Jackie, Hatfield has three daughters.
Real Estate
Tinker and his wife own several homes around the US, primarily in Portland and along a like in Idaho called Lake Pend Oreille.
