A game-worn, autographed Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals has been privately sold for $14 million, the highest price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia, Hunt Auctions announced on Monday.
The Pennsylvania-based auction house said the buyer is Miami real estate investor Ron Firman, who purchased the jersey through a private treaty sale.
A night in Salt Lake City
The red road jersey is the one Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 Finals on June 5, 1998, in Salt Lake City. The Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 93-88 that night to tie the series 1-1. Jordan scored 37 points with five rebounds and three assists, and went on to win his sixth and final Finals MVP award.
The Bulls won the series in six games — the sixth and final championship of Jordan's career. The 1997-98 season was the subject of the 2020 documentary series "The Last Dance".
Elite asset class
The $14 million price is the second-biggest known price for any game-worn jersey, behind Babe Ruth's 1932 "called shot" jersey, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024. It is also the third 1998 Finals Jordan jersey to fetch more than $10 million — the Game 1 jersey sold for about $10.1 million in 2022, and the Game 3 jersey for about $12.3 million last month.
Hunt Auctions president David Hunt said Jordan's memorabilia "has now escalated to an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art." The jersey was originally bought from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003 and had changed hands only once since.
Sources:
- Michael Jordan's 'Last Dance' NBA Finals jersey sells for record $14m — Al Jazeera (AP)
- Jordan jersey sets $14 million record for basketball memorabilia — The Associated Press via BusinessMirror
- Michael Jordan's Game 2 '98 Finals jersey sells for record $14 million — Reuters
The Pennsylvania-based auction house said the buyer is Miami real estate investor Ron Firman, who purchased the jersey through a private treaty sale.
A night in Salt Lake City
The red road jersey is the one Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 Finals on June 5, 1998, in Salt Lake City. The Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 93-88 that night to tie the series 1-1. Jordan scored 37 points with five rebounds and three assists, and went on to win his sixth and final Finals MVP award.
The Bulls won the series in six games — the sixth and final championship of Jordan's career. The 1997-98 season was the subject of the 2020 documentary series "The Last Dance".
Elite asset class
The $14 million price is the second-biggest known price for any game-worn jersey, behind Babe Ruth's 1932 "called shot" jersey, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024. It is also the third 1998 Finals Jordan jersey to fetch more than $10 million — the Game 1 jersey sold for about $10.1 million in 2022, and the Game 3 jersey for about $12.3 million last month.
Hunt Auctions president David Hunt said Jordan's memorabilia "has now escalated to an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art." The jersey was originally bought from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003 and had changed hands only once since.
Sources:
- Michael Jordan's 'Last Dance' NBA Finals jersey sells for record $14m — Al Jazeera (AP)
- Jordan jersey sets $14 million record for basketball memorabilia — The Associated Press via BusinessMirror
- Michael Jordan's Game 2 '98 Finals jersey sells for record $14 million — Reuters
