At the time of its release, the Air Jordan 17 was the most expensive Air Jordan sneaker ever created. Landing in 2002 with a whopping $200 MSRP, the seventeenth Air Jordan model was designed with Jordan’s post-NBA activities in mind — namely his love of golf and jazz. It came housed in a special packaging inspired by hard cases used by musicians, while the outsole traction mimicked the green and the rough of a golf course.
The Air Jordan 17 was also expensive due to the amount of cushioning technology used to build the shoes. Air Jordans often brought new innovation to the market, and the XVII was no different as it offered an unprecedented package of Tuned Air (the first time it appeared on an Air Jordan), a full-length TPU shank, and a heel stabilizer. And oh, it came with a CD-ROM.
Throughout its history, the Air Jordan 17 was connected to high MSRPs, and back then the premium pricing was arguably justified. The shoes arrived during the most unique and awkward time in Jordan’s career, designed by someone other than Tinker with Jordan himself looking relatively mortal compared to his run with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. That $200 tag in 2002 translates to nearly $350 today based on a quick Google search of dollar inflation statistics, but still — he MSRP for the upcoming Air Jordan 17 Low “Lightning” is shocking.
According to @zsneakerheadz, the upcoming first-time Retro release of the Lightning 17s will have an MSRP of $300. No special packaging, no CD-ROMs, no new innovation. Good ‘ol fashioned nostalgia will drive consumer sales, but despite how beautiful these are, $300 might be enough to have us pivot back on defense. That figure is literally double that of the Lightning’s original MSRP back in 2002 (it released for $150, which even at the time was considered high for a low-top Air Jordan).
As of the publishing of this article, the Air Jordan 17 Low “Lightning” will officially release on May 30th, 2024 with the hefty $300 MSRP.
In other Jordan news, the Jordan 12 “Cherry” release is scheduled to go down on October 28th.