A Closer Look at the $25,000 DJ Khaled Air Jordan 3 “Grateful”

In the world of collectible sneakers, there is one that stands out in the Air Jordan lineup. The DJ Khaled x Air Jordan 3 “Grateful” colorway is a vibrant red with some serious style augmentation that breaks up the solid red upper with splashes of white and black color in a veined pattern with just enough accent to give it an aesthetically pleasing balance of color and texture. Visually, the shoe is well balanced and price wise, it’s one of the most expensive that isn’t a one-off type. Nonetheless, it is a highly collectible sneaker coming in at a cost that goes as high as $25,000. What makes the DJ Khaled x Air Jordan 3 “Grateful” so valuable? Read on to learn the facts about this amazing model.

The History of the DJ Khaled x Air Jordan 3 “Grateful”

This sneaker is the result of a collaboration between DJ Khaled and Nike to create a new colorway in celebration of two major events in the famous and successful music producers life. The first was the birth of his baby, whom he named Asahd. The second was his hit album from 2017 with the same name as the shoe’s colorway. The colorway is titled “Grateful” because this is precisely how Khaled was feeling about both of these life-changing occasions. The shoe was designed with the hangtags which read “We The Best” and the upper is made of University leather in red, which is known for its softness. The heel and mudguard feature an elephant print for amazing contrast and texture and an air unit at the midsole gives it comfortable cushioning with an excellent response with every step.

DJ Khaled has been working with the Jordan division of the Nike brand to personally added his own creativity in the creation of the shoes and he proudly endorsed the shoes at autograph signings to show his full support and to promote their sale to his fans and to the greater public.

The popularity of the Grateful

The 2017 release of the new colorway was met with a great deal of enthusiasm. Their vibrant red color was an instant hit with the masses and DJ Khaled fans were particularly fond of the fact that the superstar fully endorses his design efforts. The sneaker was selling for high prices that ranged from $16,000 on the low end to a whopping $30,000, making this one of the most successful Jordan sneaker collaborations in the history of the brand.

What makes this sneaker so special?

The short answer for this is that the DJ Khaled Air Jordan Grateful is a collector’s item. It satisfies all of the criteria and the price it’s gone for certainly confirms this fact. The first factor in its value is the fact that it’s highly prized by a large group of people, any one of which would love to own a pair of their own. These are mostly big-time DJ Khaled fans, but there are other reasons for its value as well. The very first release of this model was a special limited edition that was made for friends and family only. This was the first wave and the fact that not many of them were made makes the first edition worth a lot more because of their rarity. Another wave was released later in 2017 for retail sales. Although the value of this shoe was placed at $25,000, later releases it is assumed caused the price to drop. There was a plummet in the average price that the shoes were being sold for after the release numbers rose. The hype over the release of the Grateful sneaker was immense. There were quite a few online vendors who were taking pre-orders on the sneaker before it was ever released for retail sale.

Counterfeiting

Another issue that many fans of the model ran into was the number of counterfeiters who were offering this exclusive shoe for sale as an authentic version when in reality, they were cheap knockoffs. If you’re currently in the market for a pair, then you must beware of counterfeits because there are several in circulation. It’s recommended that you study the images of the authentic shoe and you can find plenty of them online, so you’ll know how to detect a fake. The authentic shoe has a clear air pocket and it was discovered that there is a light red tint to the pockets of the fake products.

Final thoughts

The DJ Khaled collaborative sneaker has been out for two years as of June 23, 2017 and it’s still a sneaker that is in high demand among Khaled fans as well as those who just love the bright and energetic design. They’re an attractive sneaker with enough color to be interesting, cool texture and they’re ultra comfortable to wear. Of course, the more expensive examples of this collector’s item are probably not going to be worn much, there are others that you can obtain for a much lower price, but they’re still not going to be cheap. This model is a very special limited edition that celebrates new life as well as success in business. DJ Khaled is a fortunate man and he’s aware of how amazing his life is turning out. He gives silent thanks through the promotion of his Grateful colorway. It will be interesting to find out what happens when he releases another new album. They did release a Grateful P3 edition which followed the original, but so far, we haven’t heard any news about another collaboration on a new release, but with the success of the first, it wouldn’t be surprising.