Michael Jordan NBA Finals jersey sets $14 million record for basketball memorabilia
FILE-Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball against Jeff Hornacek #14 of the Utah Jazz during Game Two of the 1998 NBA Finals on June 5, 1998 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images)
A 1998 NBA Finals game-worn, autographed Michael Jordan jersey was privately sold for $14 million at an auction house this week.
Pennsylvania-based Hunt Auctions announced the private treaty sale on Oct. 12 calling it the highest price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia.
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This sale becomes at least the third time a Jordan jersey from that 1998 finals has fetched roughly $10 million. A jersey from Game 1 sold at auction for $10.1 million in 2022 and a jersey from Game 3 was auctioned in September for about $12.3 million.
Jordan NBA Finals jersey sells for $14 million
Dig deeper:
Michael Jordan’s NBA Finals jersey was purchased by Miami real estate investor Ron Firman. The red jersey is the one Jordan wore in Game 2 of that series on June 5, 1998. Jordan and the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz that night to even the series at a game apiece.
By the numbers:
According to The Associated Press, the $14 million price tag for Jordan’s jersey would be the second-biggest known cost for a game-worn jersey, behind the $24.12 million paid in 2024 for the jersey worn by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees when he hit the "called shot" home run against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series.
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What they're saying:
"Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world." Firman said in a news release from Hunt Auctions obtained by the AP. "I’m very excited about the purchase."
The jersey that Firman purchased was originally bought from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003, David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions told the AP, explaining that it "has remained within a succinct chain of custody having only changed hands once from the original purchaser."
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which cites comments from David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions about the sale of Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.