A pair of sneakers which Basketball player, Michael Jordan, wore for games from 1985 sold for more than trice the estimated auction price on Sunday, 17th May 2020.
This record-breaking sell has broken the world auction record for sneakers, according to Sotheby’s.
According to Sotheby’s, ten bidders from across the world bid for the Jordan’s autographed Nike Air Jordan 1s shoes online auction closed at $560,000.
“Following a bidding war which drove the value up by US $300,000 within the final twenty minutes of the sale, the pair achieved more than 3.5x their $150,000 high estimate,” Sotheby’s said.
The sale breaks the world auction record for a pair of sneakers, set last year by Sotheby’s auction of the Nike “Moon Shoe” for $437,500.
“Bidders ranging from age 19 to 50+ participated across 4 continents for the sneakers that has Jordan’s autograph with a permanent marker.
“The waffle-soled running shoes, one of 12 pairs ever made, were designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman for the 1972 Olympic Trials.
The Nike Air Jordan 1s were made exclusively for Jordan, and featured red laces instead of black and white.
“Produced between February to April 1985, Jordan wore the present pair of Air Jordan 1s during an early, pivotal point of his career and thus catapulted the sneaker’s popularity,” Sotheby’s said.
Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s Director of eCommerce Development, said: “We are extremely excited about today’s record-breaking result!
“Building off the momentum from our debut sneaker sale last year, which previously set the record for a pair of sneakers with the Nike Moon Shoe, we wanted to set the bar even higher for our second sneaker sale.”
