Air Jordans are a vastly popular brand of athletic footwear. Some variations of these shoes are very expensive. The most expensive Air Jordans ever made typically include celebrity collaborated, limited-edition releases, as well as original releases that are difficult or nearly impossible to find for purchase on today’s market.
There is a good chance that those who love sneakers either own a pair of Air Jordans or really want to own one. However, not only are these shoes, with their iconic namesake, some of the world’s most expensive, they are also one of America’s most recognizable products. Sure, Air Jordans can still be found at your local Foot Locker outlet, but the ones we are talking about here are collectors’ items, with certain individuals intently seeking them out for purchase, while only a lucky few actually have them in their possession. Even fewer are ready to sell them.
If you are an avid seeker of Air Jordan’s though, you might be interested to find out how rare they are and how much they will cost you if you were to come across a pair for sale. Let’s talk about the 20 Air Jordans sets of shoes that currently exist in the world.
History Of Air Jordans Shoes
Before we talk about the shoes themselves and how much some pairs will cost you, let’s take a small detour into the history of the infamous Air Jordans. Named after Michael Jordan, one of the greats and one of basketball’s most recognizable names, the Air Jordans were not the first sneakers to be tied to a particular basketball superstar (that attribute belongs to Chuck Taylor). When Jordan burst on the scene in the 1980s, his uncanny skills on the court stood out instantly, giving birth to the legend that Michael Jordan would become.
Jordan’s skill was noticed early on by Nike, a sport’s industry innovator in their own right, and they took a chance at creating a shoe for the largely unproven player (at the time) with an endorsement tag of $2.5 million. This was the kind of money reserved for proven superstars, so for Nike to take a chance like this on Jordan in this manner was unprecedented.
What is even more notable is that Jordan wore his new line of shoes during his games, violating league rules, which carried a $5,000 per game penalty. Jordan realized, however, that the marketing behind taking this action was priceless. He continued to wear the shoes as Nike ponied up the funds for his fines. By bucking the system and league rules, these actions propelled the Air Jordans to massive popularity, resulting in a shoe that would become synonymous with hip-hop style and basketball.
Some Fun Facts About The Air Jordans Shoe Brand
- Nike was not Michael Jordan’s first pick of shoe brands to have his shoe developed with. As a long-time fan of Addidas, that would have been his actual preference, but Nike’s $2.5 million-plus royalties offer was not one that Addidas could come anywhere near beating.
- The second edition of the Air Jordan’s was Nike’s second shoe ever to not feature their Swoosh Logo. This, of course, did not hurt their sales numbers and would help Nike cement its popularity in the shoe-design world.
- If you were to somehow acquire an actual pair that Michael Jordan wore to a game, you would find that they are of two different sizes. Jordan wore a size 13 on one foot while wearing a 13.5 on the other.
- The most famous pair of Air Jordans was dubbed the XI and designed by Tinker Hatfield. The inspiration for his design was unusual to say the very least. He was inspired by this particular design by seeing a tarp-covered lawnmower.
The Best Air Jordans Of All Time
If you are an avid lover of shoes and have been seeking a classic pair of Air Jordans to purchase, you will want to read throughout the list of the 20 of the most expensive Air Jordans in existence. You will learn a ton of interesting facts about the shoe including why Drake’s Air Jordans are one of the most expensive, some interesting celebrity collaborations, and how one pair of Air Jordans sold at an auction went to over $100,000 because of the flu. Let’s dive in!
The 20 Most Expensive Air Jordans Ever Made
1. Solid Gold OVO x Air Jordans (released in 2016, $2 million)
OVO (October’s Very Own) apparel line headed up by celebrity performer Drake partnered with Nike to produce a sneaker line that is both uniquely styled and wildly expensive. In fact, to purchase a shoe from this line, you might have to have Drake’s money to even have it be under consideration.
From this line came a pair of Air Jordans that is most certainly the most expensive one in existence. The OVO x Air Jordans are line with solid gold and have a reported worth of $2 million, though the actual cost is likely higher because the $2 million accounts for the 100 pounds worth of gold used by the shoes, and does not even include the costs associated to designing the shoe or its manufacturing.
Needless to say, there is only one pair in the world. Because of the 100 pounds of gold involved in its creation, these are not really sneakers that even Drake can wear when going out. They are rather a quite unique collector’s item that only the Canadian rapper owns.
2. Air Jordan 1 (released in 1985, $560,000)
A pair of Air Jordan 1s sold for a record $560,000 by Sotheby in May of 2020. The pair was one that Jordan actually wore in a Chicago Bulls game and is personally autographed. The previous record-holder, a 1972 pair of Nikes, sold for over $100,000 less than the massive $560,000 this Air Jordan 1s collected. In fact, these sold for over three times their actual price.
In the last few, tense minutes of the auction, the bids went over $300,000. The popularity of the shoes was evident as it was reported that the final 4 bidders were representative of 4 different continents. Who won the auction with the astronomical $560,000 bid? Well, the truth is no one is really sure.
3. Air Jordan 12 “Flu Game” (released in 1997, $104,000)
Prior to the Air Jordan one sale, the record holder for Air Jordans sold was the $104,000 Air Jordan 12s, sold at a 2013 auction. These shoes were from the infamous game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals where Jordan, who was violently ill at the time, went out for the game and led the Bulls to victory.
After the game, Jordan gifted the “flu game” shoes he wore to a ball boy. This ball boy would eventually put these shoes up for sale at an auction with a price tag starting at $5,000. 15 bids were placed for the pair, ultimately ballooning the price over 21 fold, resulting in the $104,000 sale that ranks these as the 3rd most expensive Air Jordans pair on our list.
4. Air Jordan 10 OVO Drake Collection (released in 2014, $100,000)
While Drake’s own gold Air Jordans are of zero-chance acquisition for anyone looking for rare, most expensive Air Jordans, the Air Jordan 10s from the OVO collection actually stand a chance of being found and purchased. These shoes come in both black and white varieties, with the black ones being far more popular, something that is reflected in their price. It also means that while their actual retail cost is $225 in shoe price listings, they have long since sold out, and therefore you will find them only at auctions or resales.
The pair that sold for $100,000 was from a very exclusive collection that was given only to Drake and his inner circle. However, a pair was gifted to an unknown Toronto Raptors fan on Drake Night. The pair of the black Air Jordan 10s from the collection would go on to be put up for auction, collecting the $100,000 sale. You will find out what happened to the white pair later on in this list.
5. Air Jordan Autographed Silver Shoe (released in 1995, $60,000)
This rare pair of shoes is special for reasons other than being worn by Jordan in a game. For one thing, only ten pairs were created and autographed, making them extremely rare, hard to find for sale, and if found, very expensive. The shoes were also signed by Michael Jordan himself. Finally, they are plated with handcrafted sterling silver.
But what makes these so unique is that they were actually a present for Michael’s 32nd birthday from his wife. From a sports memorabilia collector’s viewpoint, this fact alone makes them unique and valuable, driving up the price of their worth.
6. Air Jordan 2 OG (released in 1986, $31,000)
Unlike most other shoes featured on this list, the Air Jordan 2 OGs are not particularly unique. So why were they sold at an eBay auction for $31,000? The reason for the price really comes down to the story of the shoes’ design.
A foot injury was affecting Jordan’s ability to play, so Nike redesigned the Air Jordan 2 entirely to create more support for Michael in his on-court play. The shoe’s new design included lizard skin and excluded the signature Nike Swoosh logo. Since designing the shoe, the mold for this rare edition has been lost, so the company cannot replicate it. That being the case, and only a few of these shoe pairs ever made, finding these Air Jordan 2 OG for sale would be an exceptionally rare find.
7. Air Jordan 4 Eminem X Carhartt (released in 2015, $30,100)
A 2015 collaboration between rapper Eminem, Nike, and the clothing brand Carhartt created an Air Jordan 4 meant for charity. Ten pairs of these limited edition shoes were created and were auctioned off on eBay with proceeds going to the Michigan State’s Literacy Through Songwriting program.
The shoes auctioned off for a combined $227,552, with a size 9 pair yielding the highest sale going for $30,100, while most of the other pairs sold for prices in the $20,000 range.
8. Air Jordan 1 Black And Gold (released in 1985, $25,000)
As one of the only Air Jordan’s to be made with patent leather, this 1985 released line featured a metallic gold Swoosh that not only made the shoes ‘pop’ it also made them particularly unique.
So why the massive price tag? That would be because the company made only 12 pairs and, on top of that, only released them in Asia, making even a single pair of these very hard to come across. In fact, the last time a pair of these Black and Gold Air Jordan 1s went for a whopping $25,000.
9. Air Jordan 1 ASG (released in 1985, $21,780)
Some sneaker fans are content with just owning a pair of Air Jordans, but for certain others, that simply does not hold as much value as getting their hands on a pair worn by the basketball legend himself during a game. In 1985, Michael Jordan joined a very short list of NBA rookies to ever make the All-Star team. During the All-Star game, he wore a pair of Air Jordan 1 ASG to play.
While Jordan didn’t see a ton of minutes on the court that game, the mere fact of these shoes being a pair he wore to an All-Star game as a rookie, skyrocketed their value. An autographed pair of them sold for a wild $21,780. Of course, this was not the only record-smashing basketball or Jordan memorabilia to sell this high. A collectors card from Upper Deck which featured a swatch of a jersey worn by Jordan to an All-Star game sold for a mind-blowing $2.1 million in May 2021, and that didn’t even crack the top 10 on the list of the top 10 most expensive sports cards ever sold.
10. Air Jordan X OVO (released in 2014, $20,000)
Remember the earlier mention of when Drake gave a pair of black and a pair of white Air Jordan X from his OVO collection to Raptor fans (provided to Drake and his inner circle exclusively by Nike)? Well, while the black pair scored a monstrous $100,000 sale, the white pair was only able to garner a much lower, yet respectable $20,000 eBay auction winning bid.
11. Air Jordan 11 Retro Premium Derek Jeter (released in 2017, $18,257)
The only thing better than one star on a shoe is two stars. That was the case with the exclusively produced 5 pairs of shoes which didn’t just feature Jordan, but the Yankee great Derek Jeter. The pairs were manufactured in honor of Jeter’s retirement from baseball. Needless to say, with only five pairs in existence, they are both extremely rare and very pricey.
The most expensive pair sold for $18,257, but the shoes are expected to go for even higher costs at current auctions. Why not? After all, the owner of a pair of these super-rare kicks will own a piece of history memorabilia commemorating two great athletes from two different sports!
12. Air Jordan 4 Retro Undefeated 2018 Sample (release in 2018, $15,750)
The collaboration between Undefeated, a brand renowned for its stylistic sensibilities, and the Air Jordans brand goes all the way back to 2005, but samples only started to appear in 2018. This shoe was quite different than the typical style array of Jordans, with orange laces topping hunter green suede, but the rabid Air Jordans fanbase didn’t seem to mind. By why did it garner over $15,000? Turns out that the eBay seller with the shoes’ listing claimed that the pair was formed from ballistic material.
13. Air Jordan 11 Blackout (released in 2012, $11,267)
The Air Jordans 11 were quite a hit when they were released. Sneaker fans all overpraised the sleek, all-black, iconic design. An eBay seller actually put a sampler pair up for sale, garnering him multiple bids, with the winner dealing up a respectable $11,267 price tag.
14. Air Jordan 4 Retro Wahlburgers (released in 2018, $11,000)
At the grand opening of one of the Wallburger chain’s restaurants, Mark Wahlburg was spotted wearing a pair of the green Air Jordan 4s, attracting the attention of Air Jordan and Wahlburger fans alike. Noting their popularity, Wahlburg partnered with Nike to produce 30 pairs of these shoes, then leveraged them in raffles to raise money for assistance with combating the California wildfires. If you find a pair of these on sale these days, you can expect to hit an average price of $11,000.
15. Air Jordan V SE (released in 1990, $10,000)
Both the original and retro variations of the Air Jordan Vs gained popularity, most likely for their shark style type appearance or the World War 2 plane look being the inspiration for Tinker Hatfield, the Nike designer who conceived this particular shoe model. Retros for this shoe have been made aplenty, but if you are hoping to snag a pair of originals, you should prepare to drop a whopping $10,000 (average) on them.
16. Air Jordan 3 Retro Legends Of Summer (released in 2013, $9,250)
The 2013 Legends of Summer Tour featured Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, and Nike took the role of J.T.’s shoe supplier for the stretch of the tour, providing the new-age pop icon with shoes for every stop along the way. Not only were they supplying him with a new pair of shoes for every performance, but they were also shoes made specifically for him.
Needless to say when these shoes, including a particularly hard to find an all-red pair, ended up going up for sale their standout red hue and the fact that Timberlake actually wore them, made them that much more special, raising their value to what ended up being a final sale for over $9,000.
17. Air Jodan 3 Retro DJ Khaled Father Of Asahd (released in 2018, $8,759)
Don’t let it ever be said that Nike doesn’t back its biggest fans. DJ Khaled is a huge fan of the brand’s rarest Air Jordans, so Nike created pairs just for him. In fact, the ones we are addressing here in particular, Father of Asahd, were actually not the first pair that Nike made to honor Khaled.
The name comes from an homage to DJ Khaled’s Father of Asahd album. The shoes are of a bright blue shade and are appended with a handing tag reading: “We the best”. The pairs are not cheap with the average price hovering somewhere around the $8,000 mark.
18. Air Jordan 3 Retro DJ Khaled Grateful (released in 2017, $7,733)
The first pair Nike created for DJ Khaled was the year before the second, in honor of his album Grateful being released. Unlike the blue Father of Asahd shoes, these are red. Also, while their price did reach $14,000 at one point in time, the largest recorded sale of the shoe brought in just over $7,700.
19. Air Jordan 5 Retro Transformers (released in 2017, $7,471)
Making his second appearance on the list, though not for his restaurant this time, is Mark Wahlberg. When Transformers: The Last Knight came out, the actor partnered with Nike as well, creating a unique version of Air Jordan 5s in the honor of the film’s release. Paying homage to the original Transformers cartoon, the blue, red, and gold shoe was adorned with the number 84.
Here is a fun fact: Wahlberg actually really wanted the shoes to go even deeper into the Transformer theme, by actually transforming their shape. While this did not pan out, these Air Jordan 5s were still quite impressive. These were also made quite exclusively for the film’s cast and crew, so if you ever see them on sale, know that you are lucky to have stumbled upon them, and someone who worked on the film.
20. Air Jordan 8 Retro Kentucky Madness PE (released in 2017, $7,000)
We round out the list with the personality that kicked the list off, Drake. It would seem that once Drake wears a pair of sneakers, their monetary worth skyrockets. Drake wore these shoes to the Kentucky Wildcat’s Midnight Madness, and if you happen to spot the pair for sale, it will cost you $7,000. Yes, because of where these were worn and by whom. Drake has got that Midas touch, that’s for sure.
Conclusion:
Want a pair of Air Jordans? No problem. The shoes are widely available and can be purchased for a relatively affordable price by most. But sneakerheads are rarely content with just any old Air Jordans. They need to own sneaker history, and they are willing to shell out the big bucks for it.
To get enough money to buy some of these sneakers, you need to start your own business or get a second job at the very least. If you think about it, most of the pairs of Air Jordans on this list, even the overwhelmingly expensive ones have actually been purchased, so there are certainly people out there who will do anything it takes to get their hands on them.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Why are air jordans so expensive?
Air Jordans are expensive due to many factors, including their high demand, limited availability, and the brand’s marketing strategy. The iconic status of the shoes and their association with Michael Jordan also contribute to their high price point.
Are air jordans basketball shoes?
Yes, Air Jordans are primarily basketball shoes designed and marketed by Nike in collaboration with Michael Jordan. However, some versions of Air Jordans are also worn for casual or fashion purposes.
Hello, my name is Idammah, and I am the founder of Wolfionaire.com, a personal development, and finance blog focused on motivation, success, and wealth. I am obsessed with studying the world's wealthiest individuals and learning about their path to success. I believe anyone can achieve their financial goals with the right mindset and strategies, and I hope to inspire and empower my readers to pursue their own path to success.
