Air Jordan 11 —‘Jeter’ Edition

$40,000

During a pop-up sale in 2017, near Yankee Stadium in New York City, Air Jordan sold 5 pairs of Navy Blue velvet Air Jordan 11’s to commemorate the major league Allstar, Derek Jeter’s retirement. Jeter’s jersey number 2 is embroidered on the heel. It’s a bummer but three of the five pairs were bought then locked away in sneakers stores for decoration. The other two people who were lucky enough to get their hands on these babies could sell them for a lot of money. Each pair is valued at $40,000, making them some of the rarest and most expensive pairs of sneakers on the planet.

Diamond Encrusted Air Force 1

$50,000

Air Force 1’s were first introduced by Nike in 1982 but were discontinued a year later. Then in 1986 they were back on the market with the Nike “swoosh” logo on the back so people would know they were by Nike. Good thing Nike decided to continue them because now they make the company about $800 million a year. There have been around 1700 variations of the shoe made to date. A regular pair of these shoes will run you anywhere from 50-1,000 dollars. But if you got a custom pair made just for you with diamonds all over it, then it would be 50k. That’s exactly what the rapper/singer, Big Boi from the group Outcast had made for him in 2007. They’re just a regular pair of kicks but with diamonds all around the Nike swoosh logo, no big deal.

Air Jordan 12 OVO —Drake Edition (White)

$100,000

For awhile now shoe companies have been collaborating with varying artists to produce unique sneakers. It’s a great way for both brands to market their products to their existing and potentially new customers. One of these fruitful collaborations was between Drake and Nike. Actually, there have been a few collaborations now by Drake and Nike, using the famous subsidiary of Nike, Air Jordan. One of them was the Air Jordan 12 OVO. OVO stands for Drake’s record and clothing brand “October’s Very Own.” These slick, elegant white with gold finish shoes sold out very fast online for the price of $225. If you didn’t get a pair then you were kind of screwed because they didn’t come out in stores. However, some of the people who did get them resold them again. One of these pairs went for $100,000. Supply and demand I guess, just basic economic theory.

Air Jordan 12 —(Jordan’s Flu Game shoes)

$104,000

Sports memorabilia is a huge market nowadays. Some items, if they are rare enough, will appreciate in value like a fine piece of art. The value of the art is all about the artist, and Michael Jordan is the Michael Angelo of basketball. Anything touched by this guy while he was playing is worth money. Especially if they are his freaking shoes he wore during his notorious Game 5 1997 NBA finals win, where he scored 38 points while having a super bad flu. It was one of Jordan’s best performances in his basketball career. 15 years later, Micheal Jordan revealed that he didn’t actually have the flu, he was suffering from food poisoning from some bad meat the night before the game in Utah. There’s another super cool story behind these shoes. They were put up for auction by Preston Truman, who Jordan had given his shoes to him after he asked. Truman was was a ballboy at the arena and Jordan asked him to run some tickets to will call for him. Truman said he would do so then summoned the courage to ask ‘his airness’ what he was going to do with his shoes after the game. Jordan then replied “Why, you want them?” It worked out great for Truman, he got a pair of historical objects for free then auctioned them off years later and got $104,000 richer. I guess the old saying is true “ask and thee shall receive.”

Buscemi 100 MM Diamond

$132,000

Buscemi is a luxury shoe brand from Italy where they hand make all their products from the finest materials. Their shoes are for people who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a pair of kicks on their feet for less than $500. And their flagship shoe, that means their best, will cost you $132,000 to take home. Released in 2016, the pair of 100 MM Diamond are a beautiful pair of sneakers. It has diamond in the title because they have 11.5 carats of them on each shoe. Also, there are 18 carat gold hardware on the shoes as well. With other companies like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Gucci, and Prada those Italians sure are good at making fancy expensive things.

Michael Jordan’s Converse Fastbreak

$190,373

Recently in 2018, the famous pair of Micheal Jordan’s Converse Fastbreak he wore during his 1982 season at University of North Carolina, where he helped his team win the championship, was put up for auction. These shoes are the earliest sneakers Micheal Jordan still kept. If you notice the colors, they are the same as his school’s colors, Carolina blue and white. They are also signed by Jordan and he wrote “1982 NCAA Championship” under his autograph, even though he didn’t actually wear them in the game where they won. They were held on auction for 24 days and the lucky winner got them for a staggering $190,373. Some people might think that person is nuts for paying that much for shoes but like great art, these puppies will probably only appreciate in value.

Solid Gold Air Jordans 10 OVO

$2 million

Okay so the most valuable pair of sneakers in the world aren’t exactly practical. You technically can’t wear these out on the streets to show them off. You would have to do that indoors, after you take them out of your freaking safe because these solid gold Air Jordans are exactly what their title suggests, made of pure solid gold! They’re literally shoes for a king, or at least for Drake, who is as rich as a king. Each shoe weighs 50 pounds (according to Drake) and if that’s true then their value is 2 million dollars. That’s not counting what he paid the conceptual artist Mathew Senna to make them. What better way to flex your sneaker game than to have a pair made of solid gold? Drake has sure come a far way from playing Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi that’s for sure.

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