The History of the Nike Air Jordan’s

Chances are that when you’re in a public place, you’re bound to see at least one person sporting a pair of Nike Air Jordan’s – but this wasn’t always the case. The Nike Air Jordan’s, named after the famous basketball player Michael Jordan, were created in 1984 when Nike was still a fledgling company. Nike had initially started as a shoe company creating running shoes, but as sales died down, they decided to create the Nike Air Jordan’s to revitalize interest. 


The Nike company was one of the first companies to successfully use a celebrity athlete endorsement to promote a product, but they decided to approach Michael Jordan, who was at first reluctant to promote the shoes for Nike. Jordan eventually decided to do the ads and promote the Nike Air Jordan’s for Nike, and did a video promotional ad, signing on to a contract to Nike that earned him $2.5 million dollars.
The Nike Air Jordan was the first Nike shoes that feature the logo of a basketball that is floating with wings. The shoe was controversial, as the colors red and black were used, despite the fact that a majority of basketball shoes at the time were solid white. This, and the fact that the NBA banned the shoe and the endorsement from Michael Jordan, set the athletic shoe industry on fire, making everyone aware of the Nike Air Jordan’s and Nike as a company, bringing them much needed attention in the market. This attention was furthered when Jordan continued to wear the Nike Air Jordan’s to his games with the Chicago Bulls, despite the ban on the shoes by the NBA, paying fines and disregarding the NBA policies.


From there, Nike and their company sky rocketed, and this led to the Nike Air Jordan’s being named their own sub-brand within Nike in 1997. From there, the Nike Air Jordan’s were completely revamped, with Nike creating the Air Jordan Team, Air Jordan XIII and Air Jordan Trainers based off of the original Nike Air Jordan design. Since their creation, the Nike Air Jordan’s have been the best-selling shoes for basketball on the market, and Nike has cemented themselves as a household name due to the creation of the Nike Air Jordan’s.


The Nike Air Jordan’s are still inspired today by the original design that Michael Jordan himself wore, and Jordan’s style is still taken into account when Nike is going about creating different and newer versions of the Nike Air Jordan’s.