Ben Affleck, Matt Damon to team up for biopic about Michael Jordan, Nike

April 20 (UPI) -- Actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the Academy Award winners behind Good Will Hunting, are set to team up for a new movie about Nike's attempts to sign NBA legend Michael Jordan to an exclusive sneaker deal.

The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Tonight and People confirmed Wednesday that former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro and Nike co-founder Phil Knight will be the central characters in the biographical film. Damon will portray Vaccaro, while Affleck will play Knight.

In addition to co-starring, Affleck will direct, write and produce the untitled sports marketing drama from Amazon Studios and Skydance Sports, who are in the process of finalizing their deal. Damon also will write and produce, while Mandalay Pictures -- the actors' production entity -- will help produce.

The movie will focus on Nike's efforts to sign Jordan in 1984 when he was entering the NBA. After a standout career at North Carolina, Jordan was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1984 draft.

Vaccaro managed to keep Jordan away from the popular shoe companies at the time -- Adidas, Reebok and Converse -- and brought the basketball icon to Nike, which was a smaller company before Jordan's jump to the NBA. By doing so, Vaccaro transformed Nike, the relationship between athletes and brands and the sneaker industry.

Affleck, 49, and Damon, 51, have appeared and worked alongside each other in multiple films, including The Last Duel, the Jay and Silent Bob franchise, School Ties, The Battle of Shaker Heights and Good Will Hunting.

The upcoming biopic will mark the first time that Affleck will direct Damon in a feature film. Affleck and Damon are currently reworking the script for the project.