NBA icon Michael Jordan’s Finals jersey sells for $10.1m, rewriting auction history
Michael Jordan’s 1998 Finals jersey sells for $10.1m, setting a game-worn auction record A red…
Black News 
Michael Jordan’s 1998 Finals jersey sells for $10.1m, setting a game-worn auction record
A red Chicago Bulls jersey worn by Michael Jordan during the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $10.1 million, a price that made it the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia ever sold at auction at the time.
The sale took place at Sotheby’s as part of INVICTUS, a two-part auction of sports artifacts. According to Sotheby’s, the jersey—marked with “Bulls” and Jordan’s No. 23—drew 20 bids before finding a buyer.
Jordan wore the shirt in Game 1 of the 1998 Finals. The Bulls went on to win that championship series against the Utah Jazz.
The Jersey that was auctioned for over $10 million
That season is widely remembered as “The Last Dance,” the final act of Chicago’s dominant 1990s run, which delivered six NBA championships. Jordan temporarily retired in 1999, returned in 2001 for two more seasons, and left the game for good in 2003 at age 40.
At the time of the sale, the $10.1 million result surpassed the previous record for game-worn collectibles: the jersey Diego Maradona wore during the 1986 World Cup, which had sold for $9.28 million. The overall auction record for sports memorabilia belonged to a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card, which fetched $12.6 million.
The Jordan jersey also became the most valuable Jordan-related item ever auctioned. In 2021, a pair of sneakers he wore during his first season with the Bulls sold for nearly $1.5 million.
Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectables, told NPR that the jersey attracted interest from both sports fans and serious collectors. He called the result record-breaking and said the 20 bids underscored Jordan’s status as the “GOAT,” adding that his name and legacy remain as relevant as they were almost 25 years earlier.
For audiences in Australia and across Africa, the sale highlights the global reach of NBA history and Jordan’s enduring cultural power. Although the auction took place in the United States, the bidding and headlines travelled far beyond it—evidence that sports memorabilia has become a worldwide market.
Since that sale, the record for game-worn sports memorabilia has continued to move. In 2024, Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey sold for $24.12 million, surpassing the Jordan jersey’s then-record total.
