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Michael Jordan Shoes From College Fetch $33,387

By DNAinfo Staff | December 18, 2014 3:06pm | Updated on December 18, 2014 3:20pm
 These Michael Jordan shoes sold for $33,387.
These Michael Jordan shoes sold for $33,387.
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Grey Flannel Auctions

CHICAGO — A pair of shoes Michael Jordan wore as a freshman at the University of North Carolina has reportedly sold for $33,387 at auction.

The shoes, sold through Grey Flannel Auctions, are a baby blue pair of leather Converse All-Stars. The game-used shoes are from 1982, when North Carolina won the NCAA championship.

The buyer was not identified, but the auction house said Thursday the shoes came from a former high school teammate.

According to a description of the shoes on the Grey Flannel website, Jordan signed the right shoe in pen, "Best Wishes."

The person selling the shoes is described as a high school teammate of Jordan who visited the future Bulls star during Jordan's freshman year at UNC.

"These sneakers were personally signed and gifted to our cosignor from Jordan after a postseason workout in Chapel Hill [North Carolina]," the auction house said.

A picture of Jordan and the unnamed classmate were included in the sale.

The shoes "show great signs of use, with creasing throughout and signs of wear toward the front of the sneakers and near the ankle area," the auction house said, describing them as "the earliest known, fully documented pair of Jordan sneakers that exist."

ESPN says a pair of Jordan shoes from his famous "Flu Game" in the 1997 NBA Finals sold last year for $104,765.

While Converse offered Jordan $100,000 to wear the brand after he turned pro, MJ instead went with Nike, which gave him $500,000, ESPN says.

Jordan now owns the Charlotte Hornets but retains his Chicago ties: His Michael Jordan Steakhouse is at 505 N. Michigan Ave., where one can sit at his Table 23 and dine like Mike for $300 for a party of two.

Jordan played three seasons at UNC and retired from the NBA in 2003. Still, the billionaire's poularity remains strong. A recent Fortune magazine story estimates that $175 million worth of Jordan-related merchandise sells on eBay annually.

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