A pair of Michael Jordan’s earliest known regular season game-worn Nike shoes have sold at the Sotheby’s Icons of Excellence and Haute Luxury auction in Las Vegas on Sunday for $1.47 million, breaking the record for the highest price achieved for a pair of sneakers sold at auction.
Selling to Nick Fiorella, a famous card collector, the retro white high-tops with hits of red were worn during Jordan’s 5th NBA game in his rookie season in 1984, making them the earliest regular-season pair from his NBA career to be auctioned off.
However, the Jordans aren’t the most expensive sneakers ever sold. In April, the company Rares bought a $1.8 million pair of Kanye West’s Nike Air Yeezy 1 sneakers in a Sotheby’s private sale, making them the most expensive known pair of shoes ever sold. Rares is one of the dozens of similar companies that have sprung up in recent years coming from the internet subculture known as “hype beasts,” all of which offer shares in luxury goods, artworks and collectibles. Rares didn’t bid on the Jordan sneakers, a spokesperson said.
The Jordan Brand continues to bring Nike billions of dollars each year. Limited releases, different store exclusives and vintage hard-to-get Jordan sneakers has led to the creation of websites such as StockX and Goat where these sought-out shoes are being sold for tens of thousands of dollars a pair every day.
