In 1984, Nike signed the Chicago Bulls' third-round draft pick, Michael Jordan, to a 5-year endorsement deal. This came shortly after Jordan won a national title at the University of North Carolina and a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. With Jordan being so young, many doubted he could handle a big contract like the one he signed. He had never been in marketing, but Michael proved all the critics wrong. Nike gave the Jordan shoe line its own logo, something never done before in any of Nike's basketball ventures. The first Jordans released, the Air Jordan I, were designed by Peter Moore. This shoe included the famous Nike swoosh. The design of the Air Jordan I looked familiar to many shoes released in 1980 such as the Air Force I, Terminator and Dunk. While the Air Jordan I wasn't the first colorful shoe, it paved the way for more colorful shoes to be released. In a 1985 NBA game, Michael Jordan wore the Air Jordan I, which sold for $65, at the time those were the most expensive shoes on the shelves. The black/red Air Jordan I was banned from the NBA because most basketball shoes were white. For every game Jordan decided to break the rules and wear the banned shoes, he was fined $5,000. Nike was happy to foot the bill, however, as it raised rumors about the shoe. Since the Air Jordan I was a buzz, Jordan came out with the Air Jordan II. The Air Jordan II was designed by Bruce Kilgore, the same one who designed the Air Force I. The Nike swoosh was not included on this shoe, but it included a simple and clean design. The Air Jordan II was known for its Italian inventiveness, so it included many upgrades over the Air Jordan I. This shoe included a full-length Air unit that inflated the mi......middle of card.. .. ..the ram on the top corner of the shoe resembled a panther's eye and the sole had a paw-shaped design. The Air Jordan XIII has become one of the most comfortable shoes in the Jordan line thanks to the Zoom Air in the heel and forefoot, the Phylon midsole and the podular construction. The Air Jordan XIII was released in 10 colorways in 2004 and 2005. Michael continued his Jordan line with 23 different models. It was after the Air Jordan XIV that Michael no longer played basketball; designer Tinker Hatfield now designed shoes for looks and not for playing basketball. Even today, Air Jordans continue to grow and are as talked about as they were in 1984. Many great basketball players have worn Air Jordans and are following in Michael's path to luxury. Jordan has proven all the critics who doubted the prosperity of his shoe line wrong and continues to do so.