Nike shoes are hugely popular. In 1964, the company began as Blue Ribbon Sports, but by the early 1970s, it had changed its name and produced the first pair of shoes under the Nike brand. Nike is today’s unquestioned global leader in the shoe industry.
Nike has participated in a number of significant cultural moments throughout its supremacy of the sports shoe industry. Nike footwear has a significant role in both popular culture and sports history, from Michael Jordan’s “flu game” to the Back to the Future movies.
Although Nike shoes can be costly, they are often cheap in comparison to more premium labels like Gucci or Balenciaga. Nevertheless, some Nike footwear can fetch hundreds of dollars.
Usually, these expensive sneakers are rare or have a remarkable history. With this top 10, learn more about the world of costly Nike footwear!
1. Solid Gold Ovo X Air Jordan ($2 million)
Drake is the one who made this one-of-a-kind shoe, which was made just for him. They became the most expensive pair of Nike shoes in the world and the most costly thing a person could show off. Expensive World says that an artist named Matthew Senna was the one who made them. The shoe looks less like real shoes and more like a statue. They have not been sold to anyone else because they are officially unwearable.
2. Air Jordan 1s by Nike ($560,000)
This is yet another Nike shoe created for Michael Jordan during his dominance on the court. In 1985, Jordan joined them for the first time. People still talk about them because they were specially designed for him and the part was the wrong size for Jordan’s demands.
The size of the left side was 13, while the size of the right side was slightly larger at 13.5. The winning offer for this pair of Nike Air Jordan sneakers in 2020 was $560,000, which was five times greater than the auction’s organisers had anticipated.
3. Nike Waffle Racing Flat “Moon Shoe” ($437,500)
In this list, Nike’s Waffle Racing Flat shoes are placed 3rd in sport. This pair of shoes was created by Nike in 1972. They gained notoriety because Bill Bowerman, a co-founder of Nike, and the Oregon track coach both wore them.
Bill put rubber onto the boots, changing the appearance of the waffle iron. A pair of these authentic racing flat shoes went up for auction in July 2019 and brought approximately $437,500. The happy purchaser was a man by the name of Miles Spencer Nadal, who bought them for display in a Toronto vehicle museum he runs.
4. A $200k pair of Nike Mag self-lacing training shoes
This pair of shoes was designed after the ones Marty McFly wore in “Back to the Future II.” SuccessStory claims that when this pairing was finally released in 2016, 27 years after the film’s release, it caused discussion all over the world.
Their use of self-lacing technology meant that they could fit the foot properly, which was an interesting feature. In November 2016, the Michael Jordan Fox Foundation sold them for $200,000.
5. Nike Air Jordan 12($104,765)
The first time Michael Jordan wore this particular pair of shoes was in the notorious 1997 “flue game,” in which Jordan participated despite being sick with the flu and scored 38 points.
Jordan gave them to a ball boy at the conclusion of that match, who sold them in 2013 for $104,765. One of the most difficult to locate pairs on earth, the Nike design was once the most costly.
6. Autographed Air Jordan Silver Shoes ($60,000)
When Jordan was 32 years old, his wife gave him the first pair of these sneakers as a birthday present. A similar style of sterling silver shoes started to appear on the market, although only in a few pairs. Jordan’s signature is on the pairs that were made available, which cost $60,000 each.
7. Air Jordan 4 Retro Eminem Encore ($18,000)
The 2015 edition of the Air Jordan 4 Eminem Carhart footwear was replaced by the Air Jordan 4 Retro Eminem Encore. To commemorate the continuing of Jordan and Eminem’s collaboration, these costly sneakers were first released in 2017.
FashionBeans claims that the number of pairs made available for purchase was restricted because there were only supposed to be 23 pairs of the sneakers created. All of the proceeds from the raffle they held were donated to the Marshall Mathers Foundation. The sneaker is currently worth $18,000.
8. The $8,000 Vlone x Nike Air Force One High
Some of the best and most popular streetwear is created by the Vlone label. To create the most costly Air Force One on the market to date, the company chose to collaborate with Nike. These premium sneakers come in black colour. The Vlone branding is represented by the red and yellow accents. Only 20 pairs of shoes from the two companies were made available for auction in Paris. Two of these sneakers are currently valued at $8,000 each.
9. Nike Dunk Low x Travis Scott x PlayStation ($5,000)
In 2019, when these shoe collections launched, they significantly increased Travis Scott’s business. In honour of the soon-to-be-released, highly anticipated PlayStation 5, Scott collaborated with Nike to make these sneakers. The shoe’s grey and white colour scheme are suggestive of the PlayStation 1.
At the lateral shoe heel, it also has the PlayStation branding in Japanese fashion. Even though the agreement between Nike and Scott called for the release of only five pairs. It’s reported that Sony staff have now received further pairs of the $5,000-plus shoes as gifts.
10. Nike SB Dunk High 420 ($4,000)
Nike Air Max and Air Jordan have collaborated to bring back SB Dunks to the market recently. The skateboarding-related couple has since moved to casual streetwear. The Minneapolis-based Familia Skateshop and Nike collaborated to create the Dunk SB High 420 in April 2020.
The number 420 represents both the date of release and the number of pairs produced. This pair of sneakers replace the 2016 SB Dunk Skunk and features a green and purple colour scheme.