Michael Jordan continues to break records long after leaving the basketball court. A signed red jersey he wore during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold in a private transaction for $14 million. U.S. auction house Hunt Auctions announced the sale on Monday, saying it was the highest price ever paid for a basketball collectible.
The buyer was Ron Firman, a Miami-based real estate investor. Jordan wore the jersey on June 5, 1998, when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz to even the NBA Finals at 1-1. The Bulls went on to win the series in six games, securing Jordan's sixth and final NBA championship. That season, his last with Chicago, was the focus of the 2020 documentary series "The Last Dance."
Michael Jordan
(Photo: Bongarts/Getty Images)
"Michael Jordan's standing in the sports memorabilia market has been firmly established for years, but it has now reached the level of elite assets, a category usually reserved for iconic works of art," said Hunt Auctions President David Hunt. "We are extremely pleased to have helped facilitate this historic sale, which sets another benchmark for our industry."
This marks at least the third time a Jordan jersey from that NBA Finals series has sold for more than $10 million. A jersey from Game 1 sold for approximately $10.1 million in 2022, while one worn during Game 3 fetched about $12.3 million last month. The latest transaction has now surpassed both sales.
Despite the extraordinary price, it is still not the most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold. That distinction belongs to baseball legend Babe Ruth's jersey from Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024.
"Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world. I'm very excited about this acquisition," Firman said in a statement released by the auction house.
According to Hunt Auctions, the jersey was originally purchased from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003 and had changed hands only once before the latest sale.
And jerseys from that championship series are not the only Jordan memorabilia commanding millions. In 2023, a pair of Air Jordan sneakers he wore during the same Game 2 against Utah sold for $2.2 million. At the time, the sale was described as a world record for a pair of sneakers.