ByJoey Heldon April 10, 2023inArticles›Celebrity News

Matt Damon has been a Hollywood star for more than a quarter century. Ever since he broke through with 1997’s Good Will Hunting , he’s played all kinds of roles, from quirky characters to action heroes. Whether you know him from the Bourne franchise, Dogma , The Martian , or anything else, Damon has been in tons of successful films, whether they were box office smashes or became cult classics after the fact.

However, it’s Damon’s latest project that will likely be his most lucrative one yet.

Someone who just about everyone in those four quadrants is familiar with? Michael Jordan . AKA, one of the greatest basketball players ever (or the greatest, depending on who you ask).

And Salke believed Air , the movie about Jordan’s deal with Nike that stars Damon and Ben Affleck was—pardon the pun—a slam dunk.

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://vz.cnwimg.com/thumb-900x/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GettyImages-1477490013.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Matt Damon Earned His Biggest Career Payday From “Air” Thanks To Overly Crazy Amazon Deal - 1”>

Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

According to an executive at a competing service, Salke merely heard the pitch for the movie and bought it for…

$160 million

And with that enormous overall fee, the competing executive made a fairly bold claim about Matt Damon’s salary.

According to the executive:

" Matt made more money on “Air” than any other movie but “Bourne. She [Salke] just took it off the table. "

By our count, here are Matt Damon’s salaries for the Bourne movies:

  • $10 million for The Bourne Identity
  • $26 million for The Bourne Supremacy
  • $26 million for The Bourne Ultimatum

With royalties from DVD, streaming, and merch sales, Damon likely earned about $30 to $35 million from the third Bourne movie, with regular (albeit smaller) royalties still trickling in.

If it’s true that Matt made more money off Air than any other movie but Bourne, it’s likely he was paid $30 to $40 million as an upfront salary when it was all is said and done.

And Matt could use the win.

Matt was famously filming The Bourne Ultimatum when James Cameron approached him with an offer to star in his upcoming movie called Avatar . Cameron added in an incentive; he’d give Damon 10% of the profits for his services. Because of scheduling conflicts, Damon turned the role down .

Avatar went on to be the highest-grossing film ever, racking up $2.79 billion across global box offices. Had he taken up James on his offer, Matt Damon would have made more than $250 million .

Of course, Damon has still had a very successful career. Though, as he’s said, no other actor has lost out on as much money as he did. Hopefully, Air can help make up some of that deficit.

  • Matt Damon Net Worth
  • Matt Damon Explains How It Feels To Lose Out On “More Money Than Any Actor In History”
  • People Who Took Matt Damon’s Crypto Investment Advice Are Not Liking Them Apples
  • Matt Damon-Endorsed Crypto Firm Accidentally Sent Someone $10 Million Instead Of $100 – So She Went Out And Bought A Mansion
  • Tom Cruise Has Made Sooooo Much Money From “Top Gun: Maverick” Thanks To A Contract Structure That Hollywood Won’t Offer Ever Again
  • More Evidence That Netflix Will Shell Out More Than Hollywood Studios To Get Big Stars