The History of Air Jordan
The Man Behind The Shoe
Michael Jordan Started his basketball career at Laney High school in North Carolina.
In 1981 he accepted a scholarship to the University of North Carolina.
After winning a NCAA national championship in 1981 he received the Freshman of the Year award.
In 1984 Jordan was drafted 3rd overall by the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan had a long career from 1984-2003.
He led his team 6 NBA championships and 5 NBA MVP awards.
The Company With An Idea
Nike was founded in 1971 after a lawsuit between Tiger Shoe Company and Blue Ribbons Sports.
Blue Ribbons sports rebranded under the direction of Phil Knight and changed the name to “Nike”.
The idea was to bring high quality running shoes with a lower price point.
The first shoe sold was the “Tiger Cortez” and then while thinking of a way to gain traction the “Waffle Trainer” was made.
The company continued to grow making hundreds of classic designs, moving from just running shoes to sports specific and casual.
With the expansion of Nike they were able to endorse all the top athletes to include Tiger woods, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.
The Partnership
The most lucrative endorsement by far was with Michael Jordan.
In 1984 Nike saw potential in Jordan and endorsed him even though Jordan had never worn a pair of Nike’s.
Jordan was also being sought after by Adidas but after a meeting with Nike, Jordan accepted a deal with them for $500,000 a year for 5 years, 2 die cast Mercedes and shoes customized to his request.
Nike came up with the name “Air Jordan” in honor of the air soles and the fact that Jordan played in the air.
The 'Banned' Jordan 1
The first design created for Jordan was called the “Jordan 1.”
The NBA had banned this shoe for the violation of the league rules. Which gave them the Nickname “banned” Jordan 1.
Regardless of the ban on these shoes MJ continued to wear them for every game.
He was fined $5000 for every game MJ wore the shoe but Nike agreed to pay all the fines.
The Jordan 1 became a cultural icon and was worn for Michaels first and last game at Madison Square Garden.
Air Jordan III
The air Jordan III was release in 1988.
This was a major turning point in the design of the Jordan shoe series because this would be Tinker Hatfields’ first shoe.
After the immense success of the Jordan III, Tinker was able to help design over two dozen different shoes for Jordan in the future.
Tinkers design with elephant print would spark designs for many other creators well into the 21st century.
Also this was the first shoe that dropped the nike swoosh and was replaced by the iconic Jordan jumpman.
Air Jordan XI
This is one of the most coveted shoe design created by tinker hatfield and the Air Jordan team.
After Taking a year off to go play baseball Jordan returned with the air Jordan XI.
The first year back he would go on to start his second championship 3 peat in Jordans career.
This was also the shoe that was in the infamous Space Jam movie.
The First Endorsed Athlete
After the return of MJ and the design of the Jordan XI Michael was looking to further his career after basketball.
With rumors that the Jordan brand would still be owned by nike but officially receive its own separate brand it was time to expand to endorsements.
In 1996 the Air Jordan brand endorsed its first athlete Ray Allen.
Ray received 33 million dollars for the endorsement and was just a rookie at the time.
The Future
As Jordan and Nikes partnership flourishes they plan to continue to release different colorways and collaborations.
They already have a shoe release line up for 2021.
The ultimate goal for the Air Jordan brand is to remove itself from Michael Jordans shadow and remove the product from the court.
| Air Jordan |
Release Date |
| Air Jordan I |
1984 |
| Air Jordan II |
1986 |
| Air Jordan III |
1988 |
| Air Jordan IV |
1989 |
| Air Jordan V |
1990 |
| Air Jordan VI |
1991 |
| Air Jordan VII |
1992 |
| Air Jordan VIII |
1993-1993 |
| Air Jordan IX |
1993 |
| Air Jordan X |
1994 |
| Air Jordan XI |
1995 |
| Air Jordan XII |
1996 |
| Air Jordan XIII |
1997 |
| Air Jordan XIV |
199-1999 |
| Air Jordan XV |
1999-2000 |
| Air Jordan XVI |
2001 |
| Air Jordan XVII |
2001 |
| Air Jordan XVIII |
2003 |
| air Jordan XIX |
2004 |
| Air Jordan XX |
2005 |
| Air Jordan XXI |
2006 |
| Air Jordan XX2 |
2007 |
| Air Jordan XX3 |
2008 |
| Air Jordan 2009 |
2009 |
| Air Jordan 2010 |
2010 |
| Air Jordan 2011 |
2011 |
| Air Jordan 2012 |
2012 |
| Air Jordan XX8 |
2013 |
| Air Jordan XX9 |
2014 |
| Air Jordan XXX |
2016 |
| Air Jordan XXXI |
2016 |
| Air Jordan XXXII |
2017 |
| Air Jordan XXXIII |
2018 |
| Air Jordan XXXIV |
2019 |
| Air Jordan XXXV |
2020 |