Union AJ1 "I'm Back" Might be the Sneaker of the Year

If you’re a high schooler or you just act like one, you know that what you wear on your feet is a serious business. We don’t usually cover new shoe releases, but these Union AJ1 “I’m Back” editions are worth paying attention to.

The “I’m Back” nickname references the famous fax sent by Michael Jordan to announce his return to the NBA in 1995, but also reminds sneakerheads of the original Union x AJ1s released back in 2018.

Like the first pairs, this model combines past colorways of the classic Jordan 1. The red upper taken from the “Chicago” 1s, and “Shadow” grey on the collar make up this model; with UN/LA tag, stitches, open foam tongue, and multicolor laces to complete the Union staple aesthetic.

Sales have been up and down in the last few weeks. StockX asks are currently hovering around $450, although we expect to see this steadily tick up as the available stock dwindles.

Here you can see the two pairs originally dropped in 2018 that fetched sales over $1000 upon release, and are still holding strong as some of the most popular Jordans to date.

Sneakerheads will tell you that the market was much stronger years ago so you might not see sales that high this time around, but historically these pairs have proven to be strong holds. If you’re not hard on funds, you might be able to sell for a premium closer to the holiday season.

The first official release was a raffle on February 27th through the Union X Air Jordan website that ran for about 2 hours. Earlier this month, the LA boutique attempted to give California locals a few extra chances to secure a pair.

The first drop was a locally based SNKRS Pass during NBA All Star Weekend that allowed those in the San Francisco Bay Area to purchase via the SNKRS app. The second was an in-store only raffle that required participants to show ID to confirm residence in LA County.

If you haven’t been able to get your hands on a pair yet, you’ll have one more chance to secure them at retail. The final release will be via the SNKRS app on March 18th, though they haven’t been loaded on the app just yet.

To be honest, your chances of hitting on the SNKRS app are probably going to be low, like we said this is the 4th and final retail release that’s been scheduled. This unconfirmed Reddit thread says that total stock is around 100K, which isn’t bad considering the hype around the release.

Next time, do yourself a favor and sign up for our newsletter so you might not be in this position. Hitting just one drop could cover rent, and cooks like this are available daily if you know where to hunt.