These are the "most expensive sports shoes ever sold," according to a statement from the company.

At this price, the former Bulls superstar confirms his status as the auction king for collectible sportswear, breaking his own record for sneakers ($1.4 million in 2021).

He also holds the most expensive jersey ($10.1 million as of September 2022), with the sale of one of those he also wore during his last NBA title in 1998.

For these sneakers, a single offer, at $ 1.8 million, had been filed shortly after the start of the sale, which had been taking place on the internet since April 3.

These Bred (for "Black and Red") Air Jordan XIII, signed by the player, are emblematic of the last final won by the Chicago franchise with Michael Jordan, in 1998, against the Utah Jazz.

"Nostalgia"

The star had put them on during the 2nd game, on the floor of Salt Lake City, an episode traced in the hit documentary "The Last Dance", released in 2020 on Netflix and ESPN. In a stadium acquired by the Jazz, the Bulls won 93-88, thanks to 37 points from Jordan.

Sotheby's had placed the estimate higher, between 2 and 4 million dollars.

Michael Jordan (r) of the Chicago Bulls and Jeff Hornacek (floor) of the Utah Jazz, during Game 2 on the floor of Salt Lake City, June 5, 1998 © JEFF HAYNES / AFP/Archives

According to the auction house, Michael Jordan had offered the pair after the game to a lucky ball collector, but the latter was no longer the owner at the time of the sale. Sotheby's did not immediately disclose any information about the seller or the buyer.

The sale coincided with the release in American cinemas of Ben Affleck's film "Air", about the history of the partnership initiated in 1984 between Nike and Michael Jordan, then a young potential just out of college, thanks to the flair of Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon.

Nearly 40 years later, the association is an empire that recorded $5.1 billion in revenue last year thanks to the Jordan Brand brand alone.

For Brahm Wachter, who heads the streetwear and modern collectibles department at Sotheby's, the player's success at auction is linked to the fact that "many people, when they think of Michael Jordan playing in the 80s and 90s, have a unique nostalgia for this period".

According to this vice-president of Sotheby's, "many" wealthy collectors are now interested in this "emerging market" of sports memorabilia, a trend that has accelerated according to him since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

"We have established clients in categories ranging from Old Master paintings to contemporary art participating," he adds.

The appetite of buyers has driven up prices: a LeBon James jersey worn in 2013 with the Miami Heat sold for $ 3.7 million last January, another Kobe Bryant with the Lakers for $ 5.8 million in February, or the blue tunic worn by the captain of the Argentine football team Diego Maradona during a match of the 1986 World Cup where he had crucified the Angeleterre, part for $9.3 million in 2022.

© 2023 AFP