Michael Jordan sneakers auctioned at record price of $2.2 million

Picture source - AFP

A pair of Michael Jordan’s trainers established a record price for game-used athletic footwear on Tuesday when they sold for $2.2 million.

He won his sixth and final NBA championship wearing the “Bred” Air Jordan 13s during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals.

Jordan is now officially the most expensive athlete at sportswear memorabilia auctions thanks to the online transaction. He had previously set a record for trainers in September 2021 of $1.5 million, but it was surpassed.

The highest price ever paid at auction for any game-worm artifact was received for one of his shirts last year, which sold for $10.1 million.

Jordan wore the shoes during the second half of the Chicago Bulls 93-88 victory over the Utah Jazz on June 5, 1998. Jordan led the Bulls to a 1-1 draw in the series with a game-high 37 points.

The popular 2020 ESPN/Netflix documentary “The Last Dance,” which is on Jordan’s final season with the Chicago team, had footage from the Finals.

Jordan, who is now 60, played with the Bulls for the majority of his playing career and with whom he won all six of his championships. However, in 2001, Jordan came out of retirement to play two seasons with the Washington Wizards.

The former athlete now owns the Charlotte Hornets, who play in his native North Carolina and reportedly continues to receive millions in royalties from Nike’s Air Jordan shoe line.

The sale on Tuesday fell on the same day as the film “Air,” which is about Nike’s pursuit of Jordan and was released this month.

The “Hand of God” Argentina jersey worn by Diego Maradona was the previous record holder until Michael Jordan’s Game 1 jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $10.1 million in September 2022.