FLOAT 100 · Sneakers · No. 76

Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Bred'

Michael Jordan was wearing black-and-red Air Jordan 4s when he hung in the air over Craig Ehlo and sank 'The Shot' in 1989, and in 2019 the 'Bred' 4 came back with the 'Nike Air' heel collectors had waited 20 years to see.

Year: 2019
Maker: Nike / Jordan Brand
By price in sneakers: 70 of 100

Market asking price, not a sale · Oct 3, 2026$369This is not a sale. It is an asking price, and no transaction is recorded at this figure.

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Shoe: Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Bred'
Style code: 308497-060
Colorway: Black/Cement Grey-Summit White-Fire Red
Release date: May 4, 2019
Retail price: $200
Heel branding: 'Nike Air,' its first return on a Bred 4 since 1999
Occasion: The Air Jordan 4's 30th anniversary
Designer: Tinker Hatfield
On court: Worn by Jordan at the 1989 All-Star Game and for 'The Shot,' May 7, 1989
Availability: A wide global release, not a limited one

Hatfield's second act

After the Air Jordan 3 kept Michael Jordan at Nike, Tinker Hatfield designed its successor. The Air Jordan 4 kept the visible Air unit and added lightweight netting on the upper, plastic 'wings' for the laces and a tall tongue. It was also the first shoe to use the Flight logo, and it carried 'Nike Air' on the heel tab, insole and outsole.

Sources differ on the launch date. One reference work says Nike released the Air Jordan 4 to the public in December 1988; most sneaker histories describe it as a 1989 shoe. It came in four colorways: White/Black, Black/Cement Grey, White/Fire Red-Black and Off White/Military Blue. The black-and-red pair collectors call 'Bred' is the Black/Cement Grey colorway.

It was also the first Air Jordan sold on the global market. Nike put director Spike Lee, as his character Mars Blackmon, in the ads, and Lee featured the shoe in his film Do the Right Thing. One longtime collector recalled first seeing the black-and-red pair in a Jordan and Spike Lee commercial in November 1988.

The Shot

Jordan debuted the Bred 4 on court at the NBA All-Star Game in Houston on February 12, 1989. He scored 28 points on 13-of-23 shooting with 5 steals, though the West won 143-134.

The shoe's defining moment came that spring. On May 7, 1989, the Bulls played the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of their first-round series at the Coliseum at Richfield, Ohio. With the game on the line, Jordan rose for a jumper over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo, who had scored 24 that night, and made it. The Bulls won 101-100 before 20,273 fans. Jordan finished with 44 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in 44 minutes.

That season Jordan averaged 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists across 81 games. Years later, in 2012, Jordan Brand released a Cavaliers-colored Air Jordan 4 called the 'Cavs' to honor the shot.

Thirty years of Bred 4s

The first Bred retro arrived in 1999, the shoe's 10th anniversary, and was nearly identical to the original, 'Nike Air' and all. In 2008 the Bred 4 returned in a Countdown Pack alongside the Air Jordan 19, but with Jumpman logos replacing 'Nike Air' on the heel, insole and outsole. A 2012 retro kept the Jumpman and was criticized for its materials.

For the 30th anniversary in 2019, Jordan Brand restored the 'Nike Air' branding, its first appearance on a Bred 4 in two decades, after rumors of the return had circulated for nearly a decade. The pair released worldwide on May 4, 2019, at $200, in adult, big kids', little kids' and toddler sizes. It was not considered a limited release.

A 'Bred Reimagined' version followed on February 17, 2024, Jordan's 61st birthday, swapping the original's canvas-and-nubuck upper for full-grain leather and reworking the shape toward 1989 specifications.

How to identify the 2019 pair

Look for style code 308497-060 and the colorway Black/Cement Grey-Summit White-Fire Red. The upper is black with Cement Grey accents and Fire Red details, on a black-and-red outsole, with 'Nike Air' on the heel tab.

The 'Nike Air' heel separates it from the 2008 and 2012 retros, which used a Jumpman. The 2024 Reimagined pair is full-grain leather rather than nubuck. Only two retros before the Reimagined, 1999 and 2019, carried the original 'Nike Air' branding.

Why it endures

The Bred 4 ties a Hatfield design to one of the best-known moments of Jordan's career, a shot so famous it has its own name. The 2019 release gave a generation of collectors the pair with the original branding at retail for the first time since 1999.

The numbers

Release date: May 4, 2019
Retail price: $200
Style code: 308497-060
The Shot: May 7, 1989, Game 5, first round, Coliseum at Richfield, Ohio; Bulls 101, Cavaliers 100; attendance 20,273
Jordan box score, Game 5: 44:00 min, 17-32 FG, 1-1 3P, 9-13 FT, 44 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL
1989 All-Star Game: 28 PTS, 13-23 FG, 5 STL in 33 minutes; West won 143-134
1988-89 season: 81 games, 32.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 8.0 APG
Production: No production figures have been published; described as a wide, non-limited release

Timeline

Nov 1988
A Jordan and Spike Lee commercial shows the black-and-red Air Jordan 4, according to one collector's recollection.
Dec 1988
One reference work dates the Air Jordan 4's public release to December 1988.
Feb 12, 1989
Jordan debuts the Bred 4 at the All-Star Game in Houston, scoring 28.
May 7, 1989
Wearing Bred 4s, Jordan hits 'The Shot' over Craig Ehlo to win Game 5 in Cleveland, 101-100.
1999
First Bred retro, with 'Nike Air' on the heel.
2008
Bred 4 returns in a Countdown Pack with the Air Jordan 19, with a Jumpman heel.
2012
Bred 4 retro with Jumpman heel; a 'Cavs' Air Jordan 4 also honors The Shot.
May 4, 2019
The 30th-anniversary Bred 4, 308497-060, releases worldwide at $200 with 'Nike Air' restored.
Feb 17, 2024
The 'Bred Reimagined' Air Jordan 4 releases in full-grain leather.

The world in 1989

Jan 20, 1989
George H. W. Bush is sworn in as the 41st president.
Mar 24, 1989
The Exxon Valdez runs aground and spills oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
Jul 5, 1989
Seinfeld premieres.
Oct 17, 1989
The Loma Prieta earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay Area.
Nov 9, 1989
The Berlin Wall is brought down.
Dec 20, 1989
The U.S. launches Operation Just Cause in Panama.

Price record

Date	Price	Kind
Oct 3, 2026	$369	Asking price, not a saleLowest listed asking price at a U.S. sneaker retailer on this date.

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Bred' is number 70 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (76 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

The Air Jordan 4 was the first shoe to carry the Flight logo.
Craig Ehlo, the defender on The Shot, scored 24 points himself that night.
The 2008 Bred 4 was sold in a Countdown Pack paired with the Air Jordan 19.
Spike Lee put the Air Jordan 4 in his film Do the Right Thing.
Before 2019, the last Bred 4 with 'Nike Air' on the heel was the 1999 retro.

How this page is made

The figure: One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not: A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
The story: Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
Archive: Oct 5, 2026