Someone Just Paid $560K for These Sneakers

They were Air Jordan 1s from way back in 1985
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 17, 2020 5:10 PM CDT
Updated May 18, 2020 3:33 AM CDT
Michael Jordan Sneakers Break Sotheby's Record
In this June 14, 1992, file photo, Michael Jordan celebrates the Bulls win over the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals in Chicago.   (AP Photo/John Swart, File)

Hurting for cash and hating the rich? Then really, don't read this—because someone just snagged a pair of Michael Jordan game-worn sneakers for $560,000, CNN reports. Sotheby's auctioned off the 1985 mid-tops Sunday, more than tripling the $150,000 estimate and dethroning the Nike 1972 "Moon Shoe," which had sold for $437,000 in 2019. "Produced between February to April 1985, Jordan wore the present pair of Air Jordan 1s during an early, pivotal point of his career and thus catapulted the sneaker's popularity," said Sotheby's. "Wearing mismatched shoes most of his career, the pair is in a size 13 (left shoe) and a 13.5 (right shoe)."

Why the price tag? AFP notes that Air Jordan 1s were the first shoes made just for Jordan, during his first NBA season. "I think the game-worn Air Jordan 1's are the most iconic sneakers of all time," said the seller, collector Jordan Geller. "They are so recognizable and they conjure up so much nostalgia, which I think gives them a very special appeal." These are also the unmodified Jordans he wore before breaking his foot in October 1985 and taking 64 games off to heal. Sotheby's said 10 bidders took part in the bidding war, which heated up in the last 20 minutes and drove up the value by $300,000. The auction coincided with the last episode of the Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance. (See why Ken Burns has an issue with the 10-part series.)

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