The Chicago Bulls’ iconic red jersey, with Jordan’s number 23 on the back, won the most sports memorabilia ever worn, the auction house said, and set a new record for a basketball jersey -ball auction.
The final sum was double Sotheby’s high estimate and the shirt attracted a total of 20 bids.
The Jordan swag broke a record set in May for the most expensive sports memorabilia ever sold, which had been Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey.
The previous record for a game-worn basketball jersey was one signed by Kobe Bryant, who wore it in 1996-97. This piece of NBA memorabilia cost $3.7 million, according to Sotheby’s.
The Jordan jersey is only the second worn by the star in his six championships to be auctioned off.
It is also the most expensive item of Michael Jordan sports memorabilia to ever be sold.
The previous record was $2.7 million, clinched by an autographed relic card from 1997-1998.
A record day. Michael Jordan’s iconic 1998 NBA Finals “The Last Dance” jersey sold for $10.1 million,… https://t.co/YB0p0dPpnz
—Sotheby’s (@Sotheby’s) 1663268821000
Most of Jordan’s NBA Finals jerseys remain in private hands, according to Sotheby’s, although he donated them to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Jordan, now 59, spent most of his basketball career with the Bulls, where he won all six of his titles, but came out of retirement in 2001 to play two seasons with Washington. Wizards.
His final season with the Bulls was detailed in the hit ESPN/Netflix documentary “The Last Dancereleased in 2020.
Brahm Wachter, head of streetwear and modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, said in a statement that the sale “solidifies Michael Jordan as the undisputed GOAT, proving that his name and unmistakable legacy are just as relevant as there is. almost 25 years”.
The jersey was first publicly displayed in Monterey, California before being shipped to New York, where fans were able to view it during the online auction.
The New York auction house, owned since 2019 by Franco-Israeli telecom mogul Patrick Drahi, previously sold a pair of Jordan sneakers for nearly $1.5 million.
The retired basketball star currently owns the Charlotte Hornets, located in his childhood home in North Carolina, and is said to still earn millions in royalties each year from sales of Nike’s Air Jordan brand of sneakers.
