A jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan during the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $10.091 million (£10.6 million at the time), setting a record for a game-worn basketball jersey and highlighting the enduring value of sporting memorabilia.
The red Chicago Bulls jersey, worn during Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on September 15, 2022. The sale attracted 20 bids and more than doubled the initial estimate of $3 million to $5 million.
The jersey was especially valuable because it came from Jordan’s celebrated 1997–98 season, widely known as his “Last Dance” campaign, which culminated in his sixth NBA championship with the Bulls.
Jordan scored 33 points in the opening game of the Finals, although Chicago lost to Utah in overtime. The Bulls eventually recovered to win the series 4–2, securing their sixth championship in eight seasons and completing one of the most celebrated periods in NBA history.
The sale demonstrated how an item of sporting clothing can become a historical artefact when it is directly connected to a defining moment in an athlete’s career.
Record-breaking memorabilia market
The 2022 sale surpassed the previous record for a game-worn sports jersey, set by the shirt worn by Argentine football legend Diego Maradona during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England. That jersey sold for £7.1 million at Sotheby’s in May 2022.
Jordan’s appeal extends beyond basketball. His achievements, signature Air Jordan footwear and global commercial influence have made him one of the most recognisable figures in sports history. The success of The Last Dance, a documentary series released in 2020 chronicling the Bulls’ final championship season, further revived public interest in the team’s legacy.
For collectors, the value of a jersey depends on several factors, including its authenticity, rarity, condition, documented ownership history and association with significant sporting moments. A jersey worn in an NBA Finals game carries additional prestige because relatively few such items become available to the public.
However, the £10.6 million sale is no longer the record for Jordan memorabilia. On September 29, 2026, another jersey from the same Finals series, worn during Game 3, sold for $12.26 million at Joopiter.
On October 12, 2026, Hunt Auctions announced an even larger private sale: a red jersey Jordan wore during Game 2 of the 1998 Finals was purchased by Miami real estate investor Ron Firman for $14 million. Jordan scored 37 points in that game as Chicago defeated Utah to level the series.
The broader record for a game-worn sports jersey remains with baseball great Babe Ruth, whose 1932 World Series jersey sold for $24.12 million in 2024.
Jordan’s 1998 jersey sales demonstrate that sporting memorabilia has become a high-value collecting market, where historical significance and scarcity can turn a uniform into an asset worth millions of dollars.
