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Dan HajduckyESPN
Michael Jordan wore a jersey in Game 1 of 1998 NBA Finals. This was Jordan’s “Last Dance” season that culminated with the NBA Finals. Chicago Bulls Victorious victory over the Utah Jazz — Was sold to Sotheby’s for $10.091million
It is the highest-paid sports memorabilia item ever, surpassing the $9.28million paid in May for Diego Maradona’s “Hand Of God” jersey.
Jordan retired after the sixth and final NBA Championship. He also received his sixth NBA Finals MVP award.
According to Sotheby’s, this is only the second auction of a Jordan jersey from the NBA Finals. The previous record for any Jordan item sold in October 2021 for $2.7million. It was a 1997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey jersey patch card with an autograph.
The Maradona jersey was the most expensive match/game-worn uniform before it. It cost $5.64 million for a Babe Ruth shirt, which was worn from 1918-1920.
It has been a busy month for auctions of sports items. A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Mickey Mantle card was sold for $12.6million in August. This was the highest ever paid sports card price and the first sports collectible that has broken the $10 million mark.
The only other eight-figure sports collectible is the “Last Dance” jersey. The original price ranged from $3 million to $5million.
“The season itself was his’magnum opus,’ as an athlete and a testament, to him as a competitor and champion,” Brahm Wachter (Sotheby’s head for streetwear and modern collections), said in a statement. “Finals jerseys of Jordan are remarkably scarce and the only ones that have been made. [1998] Finals are perhaps the most sought-after of them all.”
The previous record for a NBA jersey was $3.69million, which Kobe Bryant paid for in May 2021 for a one-off NBA jersey.
Wachter released a statement after the sale, saying that “in the weeks since the auction was announced, there’s been a palpable excitement not only from sports fans but also collectors alike, who are eager to possess a rarified piece in history.”[The] Record-breaking results with 20 bids solidify Michael Jordan’s status as the undisputed winner of the GOAT. It proves his incomparable legacy and name are just as relevant today as they were nearly 25 years ago.