This pair worn during the Chicago Bulls star’s last NBA Finals in 1998 became the most expensive sports shoe sales on Tuesday.
By QM with AFP
© TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
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Un new record in an auction. A pair of sneakers worn by NBA legend Michael Jordan during his last championship final in 1998 with the Chicago Bulls was sold on Tuesday April 11 for the sum of 2.2 million dollars, announced the company Sotheby’s. They are “the most expensive sports shoes ever sold,” according to a company statement.
At this price, the former Bulls superstar confirms his status as auction king for collectible sportswear, breaking his own record for sneakers ($ 1.4 million in 2021). He also owns the most expensive jersey ($ 10.1 million in September 2022), with the sale of one of those he also wore during his last victorious NBA title in 1998.
For these sneakers, a single offer, at $1.8 million, had been submitted shortly after the start of the sale, which had been taking place on the Internet since April 3. Including fees and commissions, the total price reached $2,238,000, nearly $1 million more than the previous record for shoes worn in games. These Bred (for “Black and Red”) Air Jordan XIII, signed by the player, are emblematic of the last final won by the Chicago franchise with Michael Jordan, in 1998, against the Utah Jazz.
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No seller and buyer information
The star had them on during the 2e match, on the floor of Salt Lake City, an episode recounted in the hit documentary The Last Dance, released in 2020 on Netflix and ESPN. In a stadium acquired from the Jazz, the Bulls won 93-88, thanks to 37 points from Jordan. Sotheby’s had placed the estimate higher, between 2 and 4 million dollars.
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According to the auction house, Michael Jordan had offered the pair after the meeting to a lucky ballboy, but the latter was no longer the owner at the time of the sale. Sotheby’s did not immediately release any information about the seller or the buyer.
The sale coincided with the film’s US theatrical release. Air by Ben Affleck, on the story of the partnership initiated in 1984 between Nike and Michael Jordan, then a young potential just out of university, thanks to the flair of Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon.
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An “emerging market” that attracts wealthy collectors
Nearly 40 years later, the association is an empire that recorded $5.1 billion in revenue last year from the Jordan Brand alone. For Brahm Wachter, who heads the streetwear and modern collectibles department at Sotheby’s, the player’s success at auction is linked to the fact that “many people, when they think of Michael Jordan playing in the 80s and 90s, have a nostalgia unique for this period.
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According to this vice-president of Sotheby’s, “a lot” of wealthy collectors are now interested in this “emerging market” of sports memorabilia, a trend which according to him has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. ” We have established clients in categories ranging from old master paintings to contemporary art who are participating,” he adds.
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Buyer appetite has driven up prices: a LeBon James jersey worn in 2013 with the Miami Heat sold for $3.7 million last January, another by Kobe Bryant with the Lakers for $5.8 million in February, or the blue tunic worn by the captain of the Argentina football team Diego Maradona during a match of the 1986 World Cup where he crucified England, left for 9.3 million dollars in 2022.