Air Jordan 3 'Varsity Royal' Release Date and Price as Michael Jordan's Signature Shoe Rumored to Go on Sale in Summer

Basketball and sneaker fans get excited—the Air Jordan III "Varsity Royal" is believed to be launching this summer, according to a leak account.

According to Twitter account @Py_Leaks, run by a secret membership sneaker "cook group" called Py_Rates, the new version of the Air Jordan 3 Retro in a Varsity Royal and Cement Grey colorway will launch in June 2020. A cook group is a private group where sneaker fans, collectors and resellers discuss upcoming releases.

In its tweet, the account shares an image of a mockup of the sneaker along with the date of release and retail price. According to the rumor, the Air Jordan III Retro "Varsity Royal" is expected to launch on June 25, 2020, and will retail at $190.

Newsweek has contacted Nike to confirm the veracity of these leaks.

The Air Jordans were originally designed for former NBA star Michael Jordan in 1984 by Peter Moore, according to the Air Jordan website. Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls from 1984 through 1993 and then 1995 through 1998.

In 1985, the trainers were released to the public with the original generation of sneakers running through to 1987. Nike is releasing a 1985-inspired Air Jordan I this year to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the sneaker.

The sneaker's black and red colorway violated the NBA league's uniform policy, according to Nike. This resulted in Michael Jordan being fined $5,000 each time he wore the shoes on the basketball court.

An unreleased version of the Air Jordan I in the black and red colorway was made for Jordan after he sustained an injury. The sneaker had a built-in support for the basketball player.

In 1994, the Air Jordan Retro collection was born and continues to today. To date, there have been 84 designs of the Retro sneaker including black/black-metallic gold, cyber and orange peel.

In 1986, the Air Jordan II was launched for the 1986 / 1987 season for Jordan's sophomore campaign. There were four original releases which Nike says combined high-end fashion with basketball for the first time. In 1994, the Retro range for Air Jordan II was launched.

The Air Jordan III was designed in 1988 by Tinker Hatfield. This sneaker was worn by Jordan when he secured a second slam dunk contest win—he was wearing Air Jordan III White Cements. This image of Jordan's slam dunk became the memorable image of his "flight" we know today—the Jumpman. The icon became one of the sneaker world's most notable silhouettes.

Then in the 1988/1989 season, Jordan closed the season in style. According to Nike, with six seconds left in the game 5 against Cleveland, Jordan sunk "the shot," beating the buzzer to finish the game. The Air Jordan IV launched globally—the first release in the global market of the franchise—and appeared in Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing. The Retro collection launched in 1999 and the women's range launched in 2018.

The sneaker Jordan wore as he hit international stardom was the Air Jordan VII. According to Nike, he wore them when he repeated becoming an NBA champion, Finals MVP and MVP during the regular season, as well as when the USA won a gold medal at the 1992 summer games in Barcelona.

Today, there are 34 Air Jordan sneaker products in a variety of different styles.