Jordans

The basketball memorabilia ranks as the second-largest sale in history ⁠among game-worn sports jerseys.

The jersey Michael Jordan wore during ‌‌Game 2 of the “Last Dance” 1998 NBA Finals has sold for a ⁠⁠record $14m.

Hunt Auctions ⁠⁠announced on Monday that the game-worn, autographed Chicago Bulls jersey was bought by Miami real estate investor Ron Firman in a private sale.

It is the highest ⁠⁠price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia and, according to the auction house, the newly sold Jordan jersey ranks as the second-largest sale in history ⁠⁠among game-worn sports jerseys.

The New York Yankees jersey worn by Babe Ruth in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series – during which Ruth called his shot before a home run – went for $24.12m in 2024.

Jordan and the Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in ‌‌six games to win the 1998 championship, the sixth and final title of his career in Chicago.

Game 2, played on June 5, 1998, in Salt Lake City, saw Chicago even the series 1-1, largely thanks to a dominant performance by its superstar guard.

Jordan put up 37 points, five rebounds, and three assists in a 93-88 victory. He would go on to collect his sixth ⁠⁠and final Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, two more than anyone ⁠⁠else in NBA history, nine days later.

The wildly popular “Last Dance” documentary, released in 2020, was centred around that 1997-98 Bulls season.

“The record-setting price achieved for the related Michael Jordan jersey is yet another corroborative result as ⁠⁠to the significance of Jordan within the industry and popular culture. This remarkable garment bore witness to one of Jordan’s most ⁠⁠hallowed NBA Finals appearances as part of his ‘Last ⁠⁠Dance’ season to complete his illustrious career,” David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, said in a statement.

“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. We are very pleased to have been able to facilitate this historic sale which serves as another benchmark for our ‌‌industry.”

This sale becomes at least the third time a Jordan jersey from that 1998 Finals has fetched at least $10m. A jersey from Game 1 was sold at auction for about $10.1m in 2022, and a jersey from Game 3 was auctioned last month for about $12.3m via an auction in September.

“Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world,” Firman said in a news release distributed by the auction house. “I’m very excited about the purchase.”

The jersey that Firman bought was originally bought from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003, Hunt said, adding that it “has remained within a succinct chain of custody, having only changed hands once from the original purchaser”.

Just about anything related to the 1998 Finals and Jordan’s final season with the Bulls has been the subject of huge interest in the collector space. In 2023, a pair of Air Jordan sneakers that he wore in Game 2 against the Jazz was sold by Sotheby’s for $2.2m, touted at the time as “a new world record for the most valuable sneakers ever sold”.

An autographed Chicago Bulls jersey worn by Michael Jordan during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals was privately sold to a Miami real estate investor for $14 million, an auction house announced Monday. The price is believed to be the highest ever paid for basketball memorabilia.

A game-worn red road jersey was purchased by Ron Firman, according to Philadelphia-based Hunt Auctions. Jordan wore it June 5, 1998, while scoring 37 points in the Bulls’ victory over the Utah Jazz. The Bulls went on to win the series in six games, giving Jordan his sixth and final championship.

This is the third Jordan jersey from the 1998 Finals that has sold for more than $10 million. Jordan’s Game 3 white home jersey was auctioned in September for $12.26 million and his Game 1 red road jersey was sold at auction for $10.09 million in 2022.

“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,” said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, in a statement.

Firman’s X account describes him as a “Commercial Real Estate Co. Principal. Partner in private co. who’s trading is comparable to a hedge fund’s. Rare Vintage Sports Memorabilia Collector.”

His most recent post came Nov. 29, 2022, and features a signed photo of Joe DiMaggio belting a single in the seventh inning of the 42st consecutive game he recorded a hit in 1941, setting an American League record. DiMaggio extended the streak to 56 games, a Major League record that still stands.

Firman also recently set a record by spending $3 million for a 1951 Mickey Mantle first-generation photo used as the basis for Mantle’s celebrated 1952 Topps rookie card. Now Firman owns another piece of legendary memorabilia. The Bulls’ 1997-98 season was the subject of the “Last Dance” documentary series released in 2020.

“Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world,” Firman said in a statement distributed by Hunt Auctions. “I’m very excited about the purchase.”

The only game-worn jersey publicly to fetch more than $14 million was worn by Babe Ruth when he supposedly called his shot before hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. That jersey sold for $24.12 million in 2024 at Heritage Auctions, setting a world record for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia. It appreciated more than 25 times from the $940,000 it went for in 2005.

“In our opinion, and 36 years of market experience, Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan stand above all others in the history of American sports,” Hunt said. “The record-setting price achieved for the related Michael Jordan jersey is yet another corroborative result as to the significance of Jordan within the industry and popular culture.”