You’ve probably seen the blurry photos. That one-of-a-kind silhouette glistening under the blinding lights of the Super Bowl LVI halftime show. It was February 2022. While everyone else was busy arguing about the Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg setlist, sneakerheads were collectively losing their minds over what was on Marshall Mathers’ feet. The Eminem Air Jordan 3 "Slim Shady" PE wasn't just a shoe; it was a ghost.
It still is.
Honestly, most "rare" sneakers are just marketing hype. You can go on a resale site and buy a "limited" Travis Scott collab if you have a few thousand bucks burning a hole in your pocket. But the Eminem Jordan 3? That’s a different beast entirely. We are talking about a shoe so exclusive that even most A-list celebrities can’t get a pair. It’s the kind of footwear that exists in the vacuum between "myth" and "museum piece."
What Really Happened With the Eminem Air Jordan 3 PE
Let's clear the air on what this shoe actually is. It is a Player Exclusive (PE). In sneaker lingo, that means it was never intended for a retail shelf. It wasn't designed for you to buy at Foot Locker. It was designed for Marshall.
The base of the shoe takes heavy inspiration from the classic "Fire Red" Air Jordan 3, a Tinker Hatfield masterpiece from 1988. But that’s where the similarities end. Jordan Brand basically took a legend and "Shady-fied" it. The most striking feature? The translucent "icy" blue outsole that replaced the traditional solid rubber. It gives the shoe a modern, almost crystalline look that pops against the white leather upper.
Then you have the branding. On the left tongue, the Jumpman is gone. In its place sits the iconic backwards "E" that has defined Eminem’s career since the late nineties. If you flip the shoe around, the heel tab doesn't say "Nike Air" or "Jumpman." It features a custom "Hi! My Name Is Slim Shady" name tag graphic. It’s a genius nod to the 1999 breakout hit that started it all.
The Details Nobody Noticed
If you look inside the shoe—which basically no one has done except for the folks at English Sole—the storytelling gets even deeper. The inner tongues feature mismatched embroidery. One shoe has the Shady Records logo. The other has the Jason Voorhees-inspired hockey mask that Em used to wear on stage during the Marshall Mathers LP era.
👉 See also: Images of Thanksgiving Holiday: What Most People Get Wrong
It’s personal. It’s a career retrospective in leather and foam.
Reports from 2025 and early 2026 suggest that fewer than 10 pairs of the white version exist globally. Some sources claim it might even be as low as five. There’s also a "Black" version of the PE that surfaced later via collector circles, but that one is even more of a mystery.
Why You Can’t (And Probably Won't) Own a Pair
The question I get asked most is: "How much is the Eminem Air Jordan 3 worth?"
The short answer? Whatever someone with a private jet is willing to pay.
Because these were never released to the public, they don't have a "market price" in the traditional sense. When the Eminem x Carhartt Air Jordan 4 dropped years ago, pairs eventually hit the secondary market for $20,000 to $30,000. Some have even touched $50,000.
But the Jordan 3 PE is rarer.
✨ Don't miss: Why Everyone Is Still Obsessing Over Maybelline SuperStay Skin Tint
If a pair ever hit a public auction like Sotheby’s today, in 2026, we are looking at a six-figure shoe. It’s not a sneaker anymore; it’s high-end art. It represents a specific moment in pop culture history—the first time hip-hop truly owned the Super Bowl stage.
The "Cardinal" Consolation Prize
Back in 2022, Jordan Brand released the Air Jordan 3 "Cardinal Red." A lot of people thought this was Nike’s way of giving fans a "close enough" version of the Eminem shoe. It had the white leather. It had the red accents. But it lacked the icy sole and the Shady branding.
Sneakerheads called it the "Consolation Prize."
It’s a great shoe, sure. But for the purists, it just highlighted the gap between what we can have and what we want. It’s the difference between owning a print of the Mona Lisa and owning the canvas itself.
The Cultural Weight of the "E"
Why does this specific collaboration matter so much?
Eminem and Jordan Brand have a history that goes back decades. Marshall has always been a "Jordan guy." He was wearing "White Cement" 4s at the VMAs in 1999. He isn't some influencer who just started wearing the brand because it was trendy. He’s a devotee.
🔗 Read more: Coach Bag Animal Print: Why These Wild Patterns Actually Work as Neutrals
When he does a shoe, it feels authentic.
Whether it’s the "Encore" 4s (only 50 pairs made) or the "The Way I Am" 2s (313 pairs for the Detroit area code), his collaborations are always tied to his life and his city. The Eminem Air Jordan 3 is the pinnacle of that. It wasn't a charity auction shoe. It wasn't a "Friends and Family" hype-builder. It was a performance tool for one of the biggest nights of his life.
Actionable Steps for Collectors
If you are obsessed with the Eminem Air Jordan 3, you need to be realistic. You aren't going to find these on eBay for $500. If you see them for that price, they are fake. Period.
Here is how you actually navigate this:
- Monitor Auction Houses: Keep an eye on Sotheby’s or Christie’s. They are the only legitimate places where a pair this rare would actually surface.
- Follow "The Big Three": Watch accounts like English Sole, sample_collector, and indexing platforms that track "Player Exclusives." These are the people who actually get hands-on with these shoes.
- The "Custom" Route: Many high-end sneaker customizers have used the "Cardinal 3" or "Fire Red 3" as a base to recreate the Shady PE. If you just want the look for your shelf, this is your only real option.
- Verify the Details: If you ever come across a pair claiming to be real, look at the heel tab. The genuine PE has a very specific "name tag" texture that is almost impossible for bootleggers to replicate perfectly.
The Eminem Air Jordan 3 remains the "Holy Grail" of the 2020s. It’s a reminder that in a world where everything is available for the right price, some things are still truly exclusive. It’s a ghost in the machine. And honestly? That’s exactly how Slim Shady would want it.
If you're hunting for one, you better have a deep bank account and even deeper connections. For the rest of us, we’ll just have to keep zooming in on those halftime show photos.