The 1998 season, which had gory battles featuring limb-wrestling and heroic swan dives, was dramatically showcased in ESPN’s most-watched documentary, “The Last Dance.” Little did the players know that their sweaty shoes would soon become treasured trophies, akin to collectible fine art like the Mona Lisa or Van Gogh’s ear! Yup, experts say we’re talking sneakers as assets.

Sports memorabilia mania is on the rise, and people just can’t seem to get enough of sweaty clothes and pieces of leather. Take, for example, the $10.1 million shelled out this year for a simple jersey Jordan wore during Game 1 of the 1998 Finals – that’s enough to buy a small private island! Remember when a pair of Nike Air Ships from Jordan’s closet auctioned for a whopping $1.4 million in 2021? As if that wasn’t enough, people went gaga over some old Nike Waffle shoes, which fetched $437,500, according to the fancy folks at Sotheby’s.

Turns out that after Jordan’s team, the Bulls, won Game 2 of the 1998 Finals, Jordan practically ripped off his Jordan 13 sneakers, scribbled his name on them (ouch!), and threw them to a ballboy, who later sold them to a dude who consigned them at a recent auction (talk about passing the buck!).

Speaking of auctions, the sneaker sale celebration came just as movie theaters rolled out the red carpet for “Air,” starring Matt Damon and a broody Ben Affleck. The film is all about how shoe-lovin’ company Nike tried to woo Jordan, still a rookie in the NBA back then.

Jordan might as well be called the “sneaker king” of the glittering basketball court. His high-tops got their own brand and they’ve only become more Scrooge-McDuck swimming-in-cash profitable over time. Just look at fiscal 2022: Nike announced that it raked in a jaw-dropping moola worth $5.1 billion!

Matthew Friend, Nike’s chief scorekeeper (aka chief financial officer), gushed about the fortune, noting that “the Jordan Brand continues to be an incredible engine for growth.” And may the sneaker market live happily ever after!