Ever since the Air Jordan 1 by Nike first dropped in 1985, the world has been in love with and obsessed with Michael Jordan’s signature sneakers. Indeed, the Air Jordan franchise is the most significant athletic shoe line of all time and a vital cornerstone of every sneaker collector’s collection.
The most coveted sneakers on the planet have also, naturally, been the most valuable, often flipping for three times the retail price, if not more. But if you’re just reselling things like, say, the latest Air Jordan 4 Retros for a couple hundred dollars in profit, you haven’t seen anything yet. Today we’re here to look at the most expensive Air Jordans ever sold, all of which happen to be pairs game-worn by, you guessed it, Michael Jordan himself. Sit back and let your jaw drop as you check out the 10 most expensive Air Jordans ever sold below.
10. Game-Worn Air Jordan 1 “Broken Foot Game” - $422,000 (2022)
On November 5, 1985, near the very beginning of his second season with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan suffered a broken left foot that sidelined him for the remainder of the 1985-86 NBA season. In hindsight, we know that this was just a minor setback in what would become his legendary career, but imagine being a Bulls fan at the time! The pair of Air Jordan 1s in the ‘Chicago’ colorway that was on his feet that night—he scored 12 points in 18 minutes of play before breaking his foot—were sold by Lelands Auctions in 2022 for $422,100. This is believed to be the last pair of standard Air Jordan 1s that Jordan wore in an NBA game. When he came back from injury the next season, he wore modified pairs of the Jordan 1 with added support straps or a Nike Dunk sole (you’ll see the latter further down this list).
9. Game-Worn Air Jordan 1 From Jordan’s Rookie Season - $486,000 (2022)
Originally given to Milwaukee Bucks trainer Mark Pfeil in 1985 by Michael Jordan to be auctioned off for charity, this pair of Air Jordan 1s in the ‘Chicago’ colorway is also dual-signed on the medial ankle areas. We don’t know what they sold for in 1985, but in 2020 this pair sold for $369,000, only later to be sold again for $486,000. That’s some serious sneaker flipping.
8. Game-Worn Air Jordan 1 - $560,000 (2020)
While still an amazing pair, there’s not much that stands out about the provenance of these game-worn Air Jordan 1s from any of the others on this list. They just happened to be at auction right at the same time as ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary, which blew up the hype for Air Jordans across the board and most likely inflated the final sale price of this signed pair with red laces.
7. Game-Worn and Twice-Signed Air Jordan 1 - $615,000 (2021)
This pair has quite a unique story: they were signed on two separate occasions by Michael Jordan. He signed the ankles first in 1985 when he gave the pair to Gene Banks, a former teammate with the Bulls. At some point, Banks gifted the pair to his friend Rick Lozano, a sportscaster for the San Antonio Spurs. In 1991 Lozano asked Jordan, on camera, to sign the shoes again (the original signatures had faded) before what would be the last game of the ‘91 NBA Finals on June 12, as the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to clinch Jordan’s first of six championship rings.
6. Game-Worn Air Jordan 1 “Shattered Backboard” - $615,000 (2020)
Tying with #7 on this list at a sale price of $615,00 is this pair of Jordan 1s that also has quite a story behind it. Playing in an exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, during the offseason in 1985, Michael Jordan wore this pair of shoes while throwing down a dunk so powerful that it shattered the glass backboard. A piece of broken glass is actually still lodged in the sole of one of the shoes. This backboard-breaking performance would later go on to inspire the popular ‘Shattered Backboard’ colorway used for many Air Jordan retros in black and orange, inspired by the colors of the uniforms worn during that game.
5. Game-Worn Air Jordan 1 With Nike Dunk Sole - $675,000 (2022)
At first glance, these look just like the other ‘Chicago’ Air Jordan 1s on this list, but they are actually different, as they feature a modified sole design. This pair was worn by Jordan in 1986 after his foot injury. To give Jordan a more supportive and softer shoe, Nike created this special pair for him with the Nike Dunk sole, which is slightly wider and thicker than the standard AJ1 sole.
4. Game-Worn Air Jordan 12 ‘Flu Game’ - $1.38 Million (2023)
The black-and-red Air Jordan 12 is nicknamed ‘Flu Game’ because it was the shoe on his feet during his legendary performance in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz when Jordan battled flu-like symptoms to score 38 points, willing his team to victory. Well, this was the actual pair on his feet that night, which were signed and originally given to Jazz ball boy Preston Truman.
3. Game-Worn Nike Air Ship - $1.47 Million
This isn’t technically an Air Jordan sneaker, but it was worn by Michael Jordan himself early in his rookie season before the Air Jordan 1 was completed by Nike. Jordan wore the Air Ship throughout the first few games of his rookie season, with this particular pair being laced up on November 1, 1984, in a game against the Denver Nuggets.
2. 1998 Finals Game-Worn Air Jordan 13 - $2.2 Million (2023)
The single most expensive Air Jordan sneaker ever sold is this pair of the Air Jordan 13 ‘Bred’ that Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals. In that game, Jordan scored 37 points as the Bulls won the game, and eventually the series for his sixth NBA title. This was one of the last pairs of shoes Jordan ever wore as a Bull.
1. The Dynasty Collection - $8 Million
There are Air Jordan grails, and then there is this incredible set dubbed the “Dynasty Collection.” The six-sneaker set includes every pair of shoes Jordan wore for title-clinching games with the Bulls, from the Air Jordan 6 in 1991 to the “Last Shot” Air Jordan 14s. Yeah, you read that correctly. These are the six shoes Jordan was wearing on the night he won all six of his rings. Epic.
