How much did Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ jersey sell for?
The previous record for an NBA jersey was $3.69m, for one worn by Kobe Bryant during the 1996-97 season.
A jersey worn by Michael Jordan in Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for a record $10.091 million with auction house Sotheby’s.
The jersey was worn by Jordan in his famous “Last Dance” season. The $10.1m is the most ever paid for an item of sports memorabilia, surpassing the $9.28 million paid in May for late soccer legend Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey from the 1986 World Cup.
A record-breaking day. Michael Jordan's iconic 1998 NBA Finals 'The Last Dance' jersey has sold for $10.1 million, setting records for a basketball jersey, any game-worn sports memorabilia, and most valuable #MichaelJordan item ever sold at auction. pic.twitter.com/7t8G98N5pW
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 15, 2022
Kobe jersey
The previous record for any NBA jersey was $3.69 million, paid for one worn by Kobe Bryant during his 1996-97 rookie season, in May of 2021.
According to Sotheby’s, it is only the second ever Jordan jersey from the NBA Finals to appear at auction. The previous record for any Jordan item was a 1997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey patch card, with an on-card autograph, which sold for $2.7 million in October 2021.
Before the Maradona jersey, the most ever paid for a match-worn jersey was $5.64 million in 2019 for a Babe Ruth jersey, from over 100 years ago from 1918-1920.
“The season itself is his ‘magnum opus’ as an athlete, and a testament to him as a champion and competitor,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectables, said in a statement. “Finals jerseys from Jordan are remarkably scant and the [1998] Finals are arguably the most coveted of them all.”
“In the weeks since we announced the auction, there’s been palpable excitement from not only sports fans, but collectors alike who are eager to own a rarified piece of history,” Wachter said following the sale. “[The] record-breaking result, with an astounding 20 bids, solidifies Michael Jordan as the undisputed GOAT, proving his name and incomparable legacy is just as relevant as it was nearly 25 years ago.”