The Air Jordan have become an icon of urban fashion that rivals the myth of the athlete himself from whom they receive their name. The well-known auction house Sotheby's revealed this week that it had sold Air Jordan - the first shoes signed by the basketball player, which he wore during his first year at the Chicago Bulls - for a record figure of $ 560,000. The bid took place in the middle of the broadcast of the documentary 'The last dance' ('The Last Dance'), broadcast by ESPN and Netflix. This footage traces the path of Michael Jordan and the Bulls to their sixth NBA title in eight seasons.
Sotheby's had estimated the bid would hit $ 150,000, but the final figure for custom footwear has nearly quadrupled the initial value. The collectible hitherto belonged to Jordan Geller, a hobbyist known to be the founder of the Shoezeum shoe museum in Las Vegas. Geller had bought the shoes in 2012 and decided to sell them "because now is the right time," he said, referring to the broadcast of the last chapter of the documentary, at which time the auction took place.
Carlos Holemans, creative director of Deloitte Spain, considers that “whoever bids with an amount of money like that, is quite likely betting on an even greater appreciation of what they have bought. It could even have a more investor profile than a pure collector ”. For Holemans, the expectation of creating “increasing economic value is always a spur to continue treasuring the objects of his passion,” abounds in a written response.
Sotheby's director of virtual commerce development, Brahm Wachter, said in a statement that they saw "tremendous bids up to the time the sale closed, with the value more than doubling in the final hour." For this representative, the results of the sale and the variety of the participants show "not only Jordan's incredible appeal as one of the most recognized and legendary athletes, but the collection of sneakers is an expanding global market."
Sotheby's, known for selling millionaire art objects, last year held the first ever exclusive auction dedicated to sneakers. On that occasion, another pair of sneakers from the brand that wore Jordan, some 1972 Nike Moon Shoe, broke the world record for the category ($ 437,500), a milestone that has now been surpassed.
The magnetism of sports historians like Jordan has triggered the appetite for sporting goods that belonged to them. Gustavo Radesca, sports expert at Catawiki, Europe's largest online auction portal for unique objects, confirms this by mail: "There are a lot of items for sale related to Michael Jordan. Signed photographs and basketballs, art pieces, watches ... And always with a very good reception from the powerful. " Radesca mentions an NBA themed auction that will begin this Friday and that, among other articles, will include "some sneakers" signed by the athlete, of the same model used by the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Catawiki warns of a growth in 28% between 2018 and 2019 of the 'sports memorabilia' category from the point of view of "bidders per auction lot".
But, in particular, the imprint of the basketball legend has been revalued with the broadcast of the Netflix documentary. Even before wearing the sneakers, that myth had already been revealed when the first chapter of the documentary aired on April 19, the day that the auction house Robert Edward Auctions closed the deadline to bid for the shirt that Jordan wore with the United States at the Barcelona Olympics, in which he won gold. The starting price ($ 23,000) fell far short of the highest bid, $ 216,000. The buyer takes the kit, which contains the message “My best wishes. Michael Jordan ”, in his own handwriting.
"Life, Jordan's narrative is rich, encompasses the most sublime glory and the most heartbreaking pain. It has all the elements for millions of people to identify with it, with its epic and with its values, ”says Holemans, from Deloitte, who sees the Air Jordan brand, woven around him, a kind of omnipotence:“ Air Jordan is a wonderful concept. He has the power of weightlessness, of levitation. He is the one chosen by heaven ”.
Profitable brand
The iconic brand that Jordan represents served in the past for Nike to take off on the Stock Market. The sportswear firm lost 15% of its value in the first four years of listing. Everything changed from the contract with the player, in 1984. Since then, Nike has shot up its stock price by 66,542%, according to Bloomberg charts. But the Jordan effect can be further adjusted: from the signing of the contract and until 2003, when he retired from basketball, the value of the company grew by 9,305%.
The latest accounting data also demonstrates the basketball player's monetary return to Nike. The consolidated results of the company, provided to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reveal that the 'Jordan Brand' - this refers to this business segment - contributed 3,138 million in revenue to Nike, 9.64% of all of which it generated in fiscal year 2019. Compared to the previous fiscal year, revenue from products with the imprint of Michael Jordan grew in double digits (10%).
Behavior patterns in sports auctions
Gustavo Radesca, an expert on auction website Catawiki, assures that there are different types of bidders at auctions for legends: "We found collector profiles looking for exclusive items, used in parties or museum-worthy pieces; there are also fans or fans looking for a specific object, such as a signed and framed t-shirt of his idol, to have as a decorative object, and finally, there are those who seek 'sports memorabilia' as a source of investment. "
During the current period of the Covid-19 crisis, Radesca indicates that they have noticed a "big increase" in supply and demand from auctions. "That demand may be related to people looking for new sources of income, beyond the traditional ones that have been affected by the market."
