Michael Jordan makes history again as his shoes sell for $8 million

At the peak of his career, NBA legend Michael Jordan won six championships, recording his name in the NBA Hall of Famers. He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls as well as six Finals MVP awards and 5 league MVPs, according to Forbes.

In all the six titles he clinched, he wore different sneakers which have now been auctioned for a record fee. The set of winning sneakers include Air Jordan VI (1991), Air Jordan VII (1992), Air Jordan VIII (1993), Air Jordan XI (1996), Air Jordan XII (1997), and Air Jordan XIV (1998).

According to Forbes, they were sold for $8 million at a Sotheby’s auction on Friday, breaking the record for the most expensive game-worn sneakers ever auctioned.

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It is also the second most expensive piece of Jordan memorabilia ever sold and added a record to another already owned by the NBA legend: the most expensive pair of sneakers ever auctioned, which sold for $2.2 million last April.

“This set represents the most valuable and significant collection of Air Jordan sneakers ever brought to market,” the auction house said on its website ahead of the auction.

The auction included a set of signed limited photographs by photographer Bill Smith depicting a smiling Jordan following the triumphant NBA Finals in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1998.

The latest sales record adds to Jordan’s September 2022 record in which his 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 jersey from the famed “Last Dance” season sold for $10.1 million. It became the most expensive piece of game-worn sports memorabilia ever sold.

“Today’s record-breaking price is a testament to the GOAT,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectables, said in a statement. “A truly unparalleled moment and milestone in auction history, the sale of these six championship-clinching sneakers will likely never be replicated.”

Since retiring from the NBA, Jordan has taken to entrepreneurship and also became one of the few Black billionaires in the world. A large chunk of his wealth comes from his paycheck from Nike, which has been his biggest financial and marketing backer.

Jordan’s recent arrival on The Forbes 400 made it the first time a professional athlete had ranked among America’s wealthiest individuals.