Jordan Finals jersey sells privately for $14 million, Hunt Auctions says

A Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals has changed hands for $14 million in a private transaction, Hunt Auctions announced on Monday. According to Associated Press reporting, the auction house described the price as a basketball memorabilia record and identified Miami property investor Ron Firman as the buyer.

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The signed red road jersey was worn in Game 2 against Utah. Hunt said a private collector originally acquired it from the Chicago Bulls in 2003 and that it had changed hands only once from that original purchaser. The newly announced transaction was a private sale rather than a public auction.

Other items from the same Finals have previously set major auction benchmarks. Sotheby's reported that Jordan's Game 1 jersey sold for $10.1 million in 2022, then a record for game-used sports memorabilia. Its Invictus sale presented the shirt as an item from the championship campaign widely known as Jordan's Last Dance with Chicago.

The market has also extended to footwear from the specific game associated with the latest jersey sale. In its review of 2023 results, Sotheby's confirmed that Jordan's signed, game-worn sneakers from Game 2 fetched $2.2 million. The auction house described that result at the time as a world record for a pair of sneakers.

Basketball-Reference's Finals records show why Game 2 mattered to the series: Chicago won 93-88 on 5 June, with Jordan scoring 37 points, after losing the opener 88-85 in overtime. The victory brought the teams level at one win each. Chicago eventually took the series 4-2, closing it with an 87-86 win in Game 6, when Jordan scored 45 points. He was named Finals MVP.

The new basketball price does not surpass the reported high for a game-worn jersey across sports. AP placed it behind the $24.12 million paid in 2024 for Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series jersey. Hunt president David Hunt presented the Jordan transaction as another milestone for the memorabilia business, comparing the market for his items with high-end art.