Rife with replica Jordan releases and technology that continues to grow by leaps and bounds, Nike will soon be testing the pain threshold of sneaker aficionados by placing a $315 price tag on a version of the upcoming LeBron X, the signature shoe of former Cavalier small forward LeBron James.
Nike is citing an increased cost in labor, matierials and shipping costs to account for a portion of the price hike. A representative of SportsOneSource, per ESPN’s Darren Rovell, estimates that Nike will only make roughly 50,000 pairs of the high-end sneaker that will come complete with motion sensors to track various metrics including how high the individual wearing them jumps at any point in time. For those who opt to forgo the in-sole technology, the price point will be reduced to $180, a ten-dollar increase from the Flywire and Hyperfuse-laced LeBron 9s.
In 1986, Nike’s Air Jordan II broke the $100 basketball sneaker barrier, dropping the jaws of parents across the nation. In 2002, the company hit the $200 price tag when it released the Air Jordan XVII.
[Related: Cavaliers Rank 101st in ESPN’s “Uniform Power Ranking]
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
