Michael Jordan's game-worn sneakers from his rookie season fetch over $500K at auction

The release of ESPN's documentary, The Last Dance, gave fans an inside look at Michael Jordan's NBA career - from the 1984 NBA Draft to his final season with Chicago Bulls in 1998. Although the documentary revolved around the 1997-98 season, it has snippets of some of the most crucial moments of his legendary Bulls career. Invariably, The Last Dance also led to a spike in the sales of Michael Jordan merchandise in the weeks that followed.

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Michael Jordan sneakers sold for $560,000 at an auction

The release of the documentary coincided with a rise in values of Michael Jordan memorabilia in the collectors' world. Last month, Michael Jordan's game-worn 1985 Nike Air Jordan 1s sold for a whopping $560,000 at Sotheby's auction house. The Air Jordan 1s are a pair of custom shoes that are mismatched in size - 13 (left) and 13.5 (right). The Bulls legend had worn the Air Jordan 1s in his rookie season, just after he began his ultra-successful partnership with Nike. 

Per a statement from Sotheby's, they had expected the Michael Jordan game-worn sneakers to fetch anywhere between $100,000 and $150,000. However, they were left wide-eyed as it raked in just over $500,000. The identity of the buyer remains unknown. The sneakers were previously owned by Jordy Geller, who is a collector and founder of Shoezeum, the world's first sneaker museum. Geller had reportedly bought Jordan's shoes in 2012. Despite considering the 1985 Air Jordan 1s the crown jewel of his collection, Geller decided to part ways with the sneakers as Michael Jordan's game-worn items started reaching sky-high values. 

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Michael Jordan's 1985 Air Jordan 1s broke the record for the highest value paid for a pair of sneakers at an auction house. The previous record also belonged to Sotheby's, who sold a pair of 1972 vintage Nike 'moon shoes' for $437,500 in July 2019. The 'moon shoes' were designed by legendary track coach Bill Bowerman for runners at the 1972 Olympics trials. 

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Michael Jordan and Nike's uber-successful relationship

As for Nike and Michael Jordan, the partnership between the two is widely regarded as one of the biggest deals in NBA history. Back in 1985, Michael Jordan, who initially preferred Adidas and Converse over Nike, signed a deal with the sports apparel brand for a reported $500,000. In 2019, Jordan's signature line, the Jordan Brand, raked in revenue north of $3 billion for Nike. 

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Image Courtesy: Nike.com, Sotheby's