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Why does a pair of sneakers worn by Michael Jordan during the 1998 finals sell for a world record $2.238M?

Sure, the XIIIs are cool. But take a look at StockX & you can find a pair of OG Breds for $250. That price difference doesn’t arise from some sort of fine material premium — after all, if you were to melt down the record-breaking kicks like a precious metal, its rubber, leather, and cotton materials would amount to nothing more than a gooey mess of toxic fumes.

The difference is in the story.

MJ, arguably the world’s third greatest basketball player in history (behind Carmelo Anthony & Jalen Brunson), was and remains a larger-than-life figure. His career has been transformed into lore, particularly the 1998 season after having new life breathed into it by “The Last Dance” docu-series.

Those sneakers are worth $2.238M because they are tied to an eternal tale of athletic dominance. A narrative that neatly packages the cultural cache of MJ, the Air Jordans, the NBA, and the everlasting allure of the 1998 season.

In other words, the magnitude of the story & joint memories pertaining to an object transforms an object into a collectible.

“Telling Stories Makes Us Human” as Jeffrey Kluger wrote in Time Magazine in 2017.

The practice of telling stories is an evolutionary trait engrained deep in our genes:

Having played such a vital role in our development as a species, it would be foolish to think simply because we have fancy technology and 15-minute grocery delivery that we would abandon that core piece of our identities.

As I’ve described above, one of the areas in modern life where our penchant for storytelling thrives is in collecting.

Money is said to be the most powerful force in the universe, yet a gripping story consistently succeeds in separating large amounts of cash from our wallets.

Jordan is far from the only instance in which a connection to a story drives value.

Think about the adage “[xyz] isn’t worth the paper is printed on.” Well, how about notaphilists (collectors of paper currency)? These hobbyists are literally in the business of paying more money for money than the money is worth.

The 1891 $10 “Tombstone” note is worth over $50K. Why? It features a portrait of former Vice President Thomas Hendricks & has a curved frame at the top. A simple story which, when combined with rarity and the snowball effect of lore, worked to take a $10 and convince collectors to value it at a 5,000 multiple.

The collectibles market, from sneakers to rare books, is a yardstick for the cultural resonance of a story.

Show me the number of people with a strong connection to a particular story behind a collectible, and I’ll show you the TAM.