American former NBA player Michael Jordan-worn Chicago Bulls jersey sold for a record-breaking $10.1 million at auction.
Jordan wore the jersey during the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals, which the Bulls went on to win, giving Jordan his sixth and final NBA championship.
Jordan’s final season with the Bulls, 1997-98, was recorded in the 2020 Netflix series “The Last Dance.”
The astonishing amount for the jersey is the highest ever paid for an item of game-used memorabilia. The previous record was $9.28 million, which was paid for a shirt worn by soccer superstar Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup. This shirt was well recognized as the “Hand of God” jersey. The Jordan sale occurred just weeks after a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for a record-breaking $12.6 million, making it the first sports collectable to surpass $10 million.
Sotheby’s reported that Jordan’s jersey garnered over twenty bids from aficionados.
—Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) on Twitter
September 15, 2022
Brahm Wachter, the head of streetwear and modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, stated, “Today’s record-breaking outcome reinforces Michael Jordan as the undisputed G.O.A.T., demonstrating that his name and unparalleled legacy are just as significant as they were over 25 years ago.”
The term G.O.A.T. stands for “best of all time.”
“The [1998] season itself is his’masterpiece’ as an athlete and a monument to his prowess and competitiveness,” Wachter continued. “Jordan Finals jerseys are very scarce, and the 1998 Finals jerseys are possibly the most prized of all.”
The previous record price for an NBA jersey was $3.69 million for a jersey worn by Kobe Bryant during his rookie season. The jersey was sold in 2021, one year after the untimely death of the Lakers great.