Michael Jordan Game-Worn Jersey Up for Auction; Expected to Fetch Above $200,000
Want to be like Mike? Now you can. Michael Jordan mania has hit a fever pitch in recent weeks with The Last Dance, and now fans have an opportunity to purchase one of the GOAT’s game-worn jerseys from the 1996-97 season, the year before the season featured in the documentary. But it’s going to cost you.
Michael Jordan items sell for top dollar in past
Michael Jordan memorabilia being put up for auction isn’t anything new. Since Jordan retired in 2003, numerous items have been put up for sale and fetched top dollar. Jordan cards, especially rookie ones, have always been considered prized collectibles.
In November 2018, one Michael Jordan card sold for an impressive $94,630. That card was a rarity with just 23 produced, and was even more unique as it featured a small piece of the jersey Jordan wore during the 1992 NBA All-Star game. Interestingly, that was the second highest-priced Jordan card.
In 2019, an extremely rare card featuring the former Chicago Bulls star sold on eBay for a record $350,100. That particular Jordan card is considered to be the holy grail of Jordan cards because it is from the 1997-98 Precious Metal Gems collection, which included a total of 100 copies. Of the 100, the first 10 were the green version, like the card sold, and the remaining 90 were red.
The amount of that card’s sale broke a couple of records as it was the most expensive card ever sold on eBay, and it was the most expensive Jordan card ever sold.
The most expensive piece of Jordan memorabilia ever sold
While there is much debate on who is the GOAT between Michael Jordan or Lebron James, there is no debating the two superstars combined on a piece of memorabilia can bring in a large sum of money, like $900,000.
In February, an anonymous buyer purchased a card that featured authentic patches from the game-worn jerseys of LeBron James and Michael Jordan. The card was registered as one of one, so there’s no other card like it. There was, however, one oddity with the card. Jordan’s jersey was from his time with Washington Wizards, not a Chicago Bulls jersey, even though the card featured the Chicago Bulls logo.
According to Ken Goldin, founder, and CEO of Goldin Auctions, which sold the card, the sale amount was a record for a basketball card and passed the previous record of $501,900 spent on a 1969-1970 Topps card featuring Lew Alcindor that sold in 2016.
Michael Jordan jersey from 1996-97 season up for auction
The latest piece of prized memorabilia to hit the auction block is the 1996-97 Michael Jordan game-worn Chicago Bulls jersey. According to Goldin Auctions, this jersey is the only Jordan 1996-97 black uniform to be offered for public sale with an accompanying Bulls’ letter.
In the 1996-97 season, Jordan led the NBA in scoring with a 29.6 average as the Bulls finished the season with a 69-13 regular-season record. In the playoffs, the Bulls defeated Washington, Atlanta, and Miami in the East before taking out the Utah Jazz in six games in the NBA Finals.
This particular jersey up for auction is photo matched to the April 13, 1997 game, a 108-91 loss on the road in Detroit. Jordan scored 18 points. The winning bid will get the jersey, plus a letter of authenticity from the Chicago Bulls, and a photo showing Jordan wearing the jersey in that particular game.
Based on recent Jordan jersey sales at auction, including his Dream Team jersey, which sold for $216,000 last month, the 1996-97 jersey is expected to bring an even higher bid up to $250,000 according to experts.
Whatever the amount is for the winning bid, the buyer will have a piece of memorabilia from the greatest basketball player on one of the greatest teams in the game’s storied history.
