Michael Jordan may be Nike’s greatest and highest-paid endorsee ever, but Kanye West now boasts the most expensive shoe of all time from Nike — or any other shoe manufacturer for that matter.
The Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototype sold for a whopping $1.8 million in a private sale as confirmed by famed auction house Sotheby’s, according to CNN.
The sale blew way past its $1 million valuation by almost double and are the first sneakers to ever sell for more than that amount.
What made Ye’s Nike sneakers so enticing to investors is that the “Jesus Walks” rapper only wore the pair at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008, but the shoes were never officially released for sale after were unveiled. They also hold special significance because West performed an emotional tribute to his mother, Donda West, with an acapella performance of “Hey Mama” following her sudden tragic death.
Fast-forward 13 years, and the buyer of the rare shoes, Gerome Sapp, the CEO and co-founder of Rares, calls the purchase of the sneakers “a piece of history.”
“Our goal in purchasing such an iconic shoe is to increase accessibility and empower the communities that birthed sneaker culture with the tools to gain financial freedom through Rares,” Sapp said in a statement obtained by CNN.
The purchase price is nearly triple the auction record for a sneaker set in 2020 at Christie’s for $615,000 for a pair of ’85 Jordan 1s.
Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, conveyed his delight at the record-breaking sale. “The sale speaks volumes of Kanye’s legacy as one of the most influential clothing and sneaker designers of our time.”
