A signed game-worn road jersey from basketball icon Michael Jordan broke an auction record with a $14 million sale in a private treaty. The auction house, Pennsylvania-based Hunt Auctions, said that the sale is the highest ever for any piece of basketball memorabilia.
The Historic Game 2 Jersey
The famous red Chicago Bulls jersey was sported by Jordan in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals on June 5, 1998. That evening, the Jordan and the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 93–88 in Salt Lake City, Utah to tie the series at 1–1.
Chicago beat the series in six games for the sixth and final title of his historic career with the franchise. The final six, 1997-98 title run was the central theme of the 2020 ESPN/Netflix documentary series The Last Dance, which was a critical hit.
Turning Sports Memorabilia into Fine Art
“Hunt Auctions President David Hunt said of the historic deal, “The paradigm is shifting in top-tier collectibles:
“Though Michael Jordan’s significance in the sports memorabilia market has always been well understood, he has now transcended into an elite asset class more commonly associated with great works of art. We are extremely proud to have led the way on this historic sale, which sets another industry record.”
The buyer was Miami-based real estate investor Ron Firman, who commented:
“Michael Jordan was very talented player and is loved worldwide. I’m so excited for the purchase.”
History and Market Background
The jersey was bought directly from the Chicago Bulls by a private collector in 2003, auction house officials said. It has been remarkably free from any history of change of ownership in more than a decade since then.
With a $14 million valuation, it is the second most expensive market value ever for a piece of sports memorabilia – only setbehind the $24.12m (2024) paid for a New York Yankees jersey that Babe Ruth wore during the 1932 World Series (“called shot”).
The 1998 Finals market is on fire. This isn’t even the first time we’ve seen a jersey from Jordan’s 1998 Finals sell for over $10 million. A Game 1 jersey from that series sold for $10.1 million in 2022, and a Game 3 jersey from the series sold for approximately $12.3 million.