Jordan Shoe Auction Could Set New Record
Forget those big red cartoon boots, if you want to see the footwear world go into a frenzy look no further than an upcoming Sotheby’s auction.
The Wall Street Journal The famous auction house is reportedly preparing to sell six Nike Air Jordans worn by Michael Jordan during the six NBA championship games the Bulls won in the 1990s. It’s a collection so rare (and so coveted by the sneakerhead collective) that even Sotheby’s won’t be able to guess what it’ll bring.
A collector told that diary, that he estimates the reserve price at $20 million and the collection could fetch up to $100 million. It is expected to be the most expensive collection of shoes ever sold, regardless of the quantity.
The six shoes (shoes…not pairs) were initially collected by Tim Hallam, who got them right after the final buzzer in Jordan’s league games. Hallam, a Bulls employee, no longer owns the shoes and it’s unclear who owns them.
“I do not play; I don’t hit; I don’t rebound, so they [championship] Rings don’t mean as much to me as players do,” Hallam said diary. “I wanted something that was actually part of the game, so I asked Michael for one of his shoes.”
The auction takes place in the midst of a perfect storm. For a while now, sneakerheads have been driving up the prices of rare shoes. The sports memorabilia market is red hot these days. And the success of the documentary The Last Dance has revived interest in Jordan merchandise. Last year, a jersey worn by Jordan during the 1998 NBA Finals sold for a record $10.1 million.
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