Can We Borrow $50,000? This is Your Chance to Own a Pair of MJ’s Game-Worn Jordans

This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of sneaker, basketball, and even baseball history, but it will definitely cost you. A new set of auctions is selling off six fully authenticated pairs of game-worn Jordans laced up by the GOAT himself.

The auctions, offered through two different auction houses, Pharrell Williams’ JOOPITER and Grey Flannel, contain insanely rare pairs, including two signed playoff-worn Jordan 11s, one Concord and the other a Bred sample, game-worn Playoff Jordan 8 samples, signed 1985 Chicago 1 samples, a pair of 1s from Jordan’s first career game against the Pistons, and a pair of game-worn Air Jordan 9 baseball cleats from MJ’s 1994 season with the Birmingham Barons that was already auctioned in a separate sale early this year. The Chicago 1s from MJ’s first Pistons game are being sold by Grey Flannel, while the rest are being offered by JOOPITER.

The AJ 1s from Grey Flannel were actually worn by MJ when he was clotheslined by Bill Laimbeer of the Detroit Pistons, causing a brawl and the benches to clear. Coaches Stan Albeck and Chuck Daly were both ejected from the game, but Jordan wouldn’t let this faze him. He ended the game with 33 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and a W over the “Bad Boys” Pistons.

For any Jordan collector, all six of these shoes are the kind of grails that could complete a collection and end obsessive hunts, but this kind of rare royalty doesn’t come without a hefty price tag. The Joopiter listings are set to go live next month, but the Grey Flannel auction for the Pistons rivalry pair is already well into bidding, and after starting things off at $25,000, the price is already up to $53,589.00 with 17 days left to go. Earlier this year, a pair of game-worn 7s from when Mike covered his eyes at the free-throw line went for hundreds of thousands at auction.

If you’ve got the cash on hand, we can’t think of a better way to spend it, but then again, we don’t have that kind of cash on hand. That said, if any sneaker philanthropists want to help sponsor the Sole Retriever Museum, we can start here, just say the word, and we’ll cover the cost of the glass cases.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com