In brief
- The world’s most expensive pair of shoes cost 2,238,000 dollars: these are the Air Jordan 13 worn by Michael Jordan in the 1998 NBA Finals, sold including fees at Sotheby’s New York on 11 April 2023, approximately 1.97 million euros at the end of September 2026 exchange rate.
- According to Sotheby’s, this is the highest price ever paid at auction for a pair of sneakers.
- Jordan wore them during the second half of Game 2 of the Finals, on 5 June 1998 in Salt Lake City, where he scored 37 points.
- The absolute record for sneakers is a set of six individual Jordan shoes, the “Dynasty Collection”, sold for 8,032,800 dollars at Sotheby’s in February 2024.
- Before 2023, the record for a pair was the Nike Air Yeezy prototype by Kanye West, sold for 1.8 million dollars in a private sale in 2021.
A pair of black and red Air Jordan 13s, signed in silver, given to a ball boy: today it is the most expensive pair of sneakers in history. Here is its exact price, its history and the difference with the “Dynasty Collection” record.
How much do the Air Jordan 13 Last Dance cost?
Sotheby’s put the pair up for sale from 3 to 11 April 2023, as lot 1 of its “Victoriam” online sale in New York, with an estimate of 2 to 4 million dollars. It was sold for 2,238,000 dollars, including fees, just above the low estimate. Sotheby’s then announced the highest price ever paid at auction for a pair of sneakers.
This is a hammer price documented by the auction house. The buyer has not been named. The pair’s nicknames come from its colourway, “Bred” (for black and red), and “The Last Dance”, the name given to Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls.
The pair in figures
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Nike Air Jordan 13, “Bred” black and red colourway |
| Game | Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals, 5 June 1998, Salt Lake City |
| Performance | 37 points in 40 minutes, Bulls victory 93 to 88 |
| Size | US 13 |
| Signatures | A silver signature by Michael Jordan on each shoe |
| Authentication | Photo-matching by MeiGray, official NBA authenticator |
| Sale | Sotheby’s New York, lot 1, “Victoriam” sale, April 2023 |
| Estimate | 2 to 4 million dollars |
| Price including fees | $2,238,000 (approx. €1.97M) |
| Price source | Result published by Sotheby’s, 11 April 2023 |
A locker room gift turned record-breaker
On 5 June 1998, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, the Bulls faced the Utah Jazz for Game 2 of the Finals. Jordan scored 37 points in 40 minutes and levelled the series at one win each. He wore this pair in the second half. After the game, he took them off in the locker room, signed each shoe and gave them to the visiting locker room ball boy, who had found and returned his lost jacket during a practice session.
What creates the price is the proof: according to Sotheby’s, it is the only complete pair worn by Jordan during an NBA Finals game, across his six finals, to have been photo-matched by MeiGray. Scuffs and wear marks were compared to game photos, one by one.
Compared to other sneakers in the ranking
In our ranking of the world’s most expensive sneakers, the top spot goes to the “Dynasty Collection”: six unique Jordan shoes, an Air Jordan 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 14, each worn during a decisive NBA title game. The lot was sold for 8,032,800 dollars at Sotheby’s on 2 February 2024, a Guinness record for a collection of game-worn sneakers. However, these are not pairs. Behind the Air Jordan 13, the Nike Air Yeezy prototype worn by Kanye West at the 2008 Grammy Awards was sold for 1.8 million dollars in a private sale at Sotheby’s in 2021, and the Nike Air Ship from Jordan’s rookie season for 1,472,000 dollars at auction at Sotheby’s in October 2021.
The price today
The pair has not been resold since April 2023 and therefore has no public market value. The game-worn sneaker market remains volatile: the 2021 Air Ships were resold for less than half their price two years later. A standard production Air Jordan 13 “Bred”, reissued several times by Nike, can be found for a few hundred pounds: the entire difference lies in one game, one player and one photograph.
Prices verified and updated on 13 October 2026. Sources: Sotheby’s (lot 1 page, “Victoriam | Part I” sale, New York, April 2023; results of “The Dynasty Collection” sales, February 2024, and Nike Air Ship, October 2021), Guinness World Records (“Most expensive game-worn sneaker collection sold at auction”), MeiGray Group.
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