If aura sold, Michael Jordan might be its biggest dealer. Proof? One of his jerseys just sold for $14 million. It broke a record in the process.
According to a Monday (Oct. 12) report from the Associated Press, Pennsylvania-based auction house Hunt Auctions announced that Michael Jordan’s game-worn Chicago Bulls jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals became the best-selling piece of basketball memorabilia ever after selling for $14 million in a private sale. This particular jersey is the red one MJ wore during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. The buyer was Miami real estate investor Ron Firman.
Speaking on the significance of the sale, Hunt Auctions president David Hunt made it clear that this wasn’t an ordinary sale. “While Michael Jordan’s importance within the sports memorabilia marketplace has long been established it has now escalated to an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art,” Hunt said. “We are very pleased to have been able to facilitate this historic sale which serves as another benchmark for our industry.”
Previous Record Sale for Michael Jordan’s NBA Finals Jersey
This news arrives just a couple of weeks after the last time a Michael Jordan jersey broke a sales record for a game-worn basketball jersey. On Sept. 29, MJ’s game-worn Bulls jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold through JOOPITER for an astonishing $12.26 million. With that, that jersey had broken a previous record; in 2022, his red jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $10.091 million.
While the numbers are incredible, it’s hard to say they’re totally shocking. After all, this is the literal Jumpman we’re talking about. He’s possibly the biggest reason Nike overtook the world of basketball shoes years ago and he was in a movie with Bugs Bunny. His legend was crystallized by the time he won his third straight championship in 1993. But then, he retired, took only his second playoff series loss of the 1990s, and resumed dominating, with the aforementioned L only serving to provide a layer of tension to what otherwise felt like a story of invincibility.
Why the 1998 MJ Jersey Stands Out So Much
Michael Jordan was obviously a massive deal even before the second three-peat. But by the time he completed the second three-peat he’d become god-like. His last NBA Finals win was framed with all the gravitas of a hero’s final mission. So it wasn’t all that surprising that ESPN decided to put out The Last Dance — the docuseries chronicling his final NBA season with the Bulls. Released during the pandemic, the docuseries gave fans yet another chance to absorb the greatness that was his 1998 NBA Finals performance. With social distancing in play and NBA season being paused, they didn’t have much else to do.
Of course, Michael Jordan probably didn’t need a documentary for his jerseys to be sold for so much money. Either way you look at it, he’s helping the Bulls collect wins almost 30 years after he wore the jersey in a game for the last time.
Michael Jordan’s Game-Worn 1998 Finals Jersey Sells for Record $14 Million