Ex-Giants star Victor Cruz to curate Nike auction of classic Air Jordans for $200K and other sneakers

Former Giants star Victor Cruz is getting his kicks curating a Sotheby’s auction celebrating 50 years of Nike sportswear.

The sneaker brand called the salsa dancing receiver to oversee an event featuring more than 100 items, including a pair of original 1985 “Player Sample” Air Jordans made specifically for Michael Jordan.

Rare and unreleased designs will be on display in Sotheby’s Upper East Side gallery on Nov. 30, which is a day after bidding begins. In the two weeks that follow, sneakerheads will have an opportunity to purchase several retro Jordan shoes including the Player Sample ones, which Sotheby’s expects will fetch up to $200,000.

Also on the block is a pair of black and blue track spikes handmade by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman and worn by Oregon Ducks runner Bill Bowerman from 1960 to 1964. That pair is also expected to sell for up to $200,000.

Cruz, a Pro Bowl pass-catcher who was part of the Giants 2012 championship team, is known for his fancy footwork. After scoring touchdowns, he performed a salsa dance that was taught to him by his grandmother when he was a child growing-up in Paterson, N.J.

His winning fashion sense landed him on Vanity Fair’s 2014 International Best Dressed List. He has also been featured in fashion publications Vogue and GQ. In 2015, Cruz joined the long list of celebrities who have collaborated with Nike to create footwear when his Nike Air Cruz his shelves.

Among the items he and Sotheby’s Head of Streetwear Brahm Wachter are celebrating at the end of the month is an homage to late rapper Nipsey Hustle, whom Cruz called “a huge influence” on him.

“He was always trying to bring his community forward, so I wanted to pay tribute to him by having this shoe as part of the auction,” Cruz said in a statement.

Those shoes are worth between $18,000 and $22,000, according to Sotheby’s.

Straight from the runway is a pair of shoes designer Virgil Abloh created for a collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Nike for the French fashion house’s 2022 runway show. They are expected to sell for between $150,000 and $200,000.

“The storyline of Virgil Abloh – a black man being a creative director for a brand like Louis Vuitton – is so special,” Cruz said.

In 2021 the 36-year-old Cruz collaborated with French designer Pierre Hardy for a sneaker line called V.C. II. Cruz told Ebony that endeavor was “to provide the consumer a look into my life as an Afro-Latino man and what has inspired me over the last year.”