Michael Jordan 'Last Dance' jersey sold in private deal for $14m
Hunt Auctions said on Monday that Miami real estate investor Ron Firman had bought for $14m a red Michael Jordan jersey worn in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals in a private sale.
Jordan and the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz that night to even the series at a game apiece, and they would go on to win the series in six games, the sixth and final title of his Hall of Fame career. The jersey comes from the Bulls' 1997-98 campaign, the season that was the subject of the Last Dance documentary series, which became a hit on Netflix in 2020. Jordan’s final season with the Bulls has been the subject of massive interest among collectors.
Hunt Auctions described the transaction as a landmark for basketball collectibles, saying it was the highest price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia. “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. “We are very pleased to have been able to facilitate this historic sale which serves as another benchmark for our industry.”
The $14m price is the second-biggest known cost for a game-worn jersey, behind the $24.12m paid in 2024 for one worn by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees when he hit the “called shot” home run against the Chicago Cubs during the 1932 World Series. The sale is also at least the third time a Jordan jersey from the 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.
Hunt said the jersey was originally bought from the Bulls by a private collector in 2003 and “has remained within a succinct chain of custody having only changed hands once from the original purchaser.” Firman said in a statement: “Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world.” “I’m very excited about the purchase.”
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.”