- A Chicago Bulls jersey worn by basketball icon Michael Jordan has sold for $10.1 million.
- Jordan wore the jersey in the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals.
A Chicago Bulls jersey worn by basketball icon Michael Jordan has sold for a record $10.1 million at auction.
Jordan wore the jersey in the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals, which the Bulls went on to win for Jordan's sixth and final NBA title.
The 1997-98 season, Jordan's last with the Bulls, was documented in the popular Netflix series "The Last Dance" in 2020.
The staggering price for the jersey is most ever fetched for a game-worn piece of memorabilia. The previous record was $9.28 million, which was paid for a shirt worn by soccer star Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup, widely known as the "Hand of God" jersey. The Jordan sale comes just weeks after a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for a record-breaking $12.6 million, the first sports collectible to top $10 million.
Auction house Sotheby's said Jordan's jersey received more than 20 bids from collectors.
—Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 15, 2022
"Today's record-breaking result solidifies Michael Jordan as the undisputed G.O.A.T., proving his name and incomparable legacy is just as relevant as it was nearly 25 years ago," Sotheby's head of streetwear and modern collectibles, Brahm Wachter, said.
G.O.A.T. is an acronym for "greatest of all time."
"The [1998] season itself is his 'magnum opus' as an athlete, and a testament to him as a champion and competitor," added Wachter. "Finals jerseys from Jordan are remarkably scant and the [1998] finals are arguably the most coveted of them all."
The previous record price for an NBA jersey was $3.69 million for one worn by Kobe Bryant during his rookie season; the item was sold in 2021, a year after the Lakers star's tragic death.