Michael Jordan's Game-Worn Nike Air Ship Sold for $1.47 Million USD At Sotheby's Auction
At Sotheby’s “Icons of Excellence & Haute Luxury” auction, organized in connection with MGM Resorts at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Michael Jordan‘s earliest known regular-season game-worn Nike (NYSE:NKE +0.80%) sneakers were sold for a record-setting price.
Leading the multicategory luxury sale featuring jewelry, watches, collector’s cars, sneakers, designer handbags and more, the pair of autographed Nike Air Ship sneakers sold for $1.472 million USD cementing them as a legendary piece of basketball and sports history. The sale establishes a new world record the highest price achieved for a pair of sneakers at auction and becoming the first pair of sneakers to sell for more than $1 million USD at auction. The sneakers worn by MJ during his fifth NBA game in his rookie season on November 1, 1984, were acquired by avid trading card collector Nick Fiorella.
Michael Jordan’s game-worn Nike Air Ships are now the second most valuable pair of sneakers ever, following Sotheby’s record-breaking sale in April of Kanye West’s “Grammy Worn” Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes from 2008, which fetched $1.8 million USD at a private sale.
“To present such a groundbreaking and important pair of sneakers at this special auction in Las Vegas further solidifies the strength and broad reach of the sneaker collecting community. This record-breaking result for the Jordan Nike Air Ships affirms the place of Michael Jordan and the Air Jordan franchise at the pinnacle of the sneaker market. Since launching sneaker sales at Sotheby’s in 2019, we’ve seen time and again the ceiling for sneakers continue to be pushed, and we are excited about all the potential ahead of us,” said Brahm Wachter, Head of Sotheby’s Streetwear and Modern Collectables.
