Michael Jordan jersey sells for record $12.3m

A Michael Jordan jersey worn during the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $12.3 million (£9.3m) on Tuesday, setting a new record for a piece of the basketball icon’s memorabilia.

The jersey was worn by Jordan in Game Three of the Finals during his final season with the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan helped the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 4-2 in the series to claim his sixth and final NBA Championship. He was named Finals’ Most Valuable Player in all six of his championship-winning campaigns.

The sale surpassed the previous record for Jordan memorabilia, which was set by his jersey from Game One of the 1998 Finals, sold for $10.1m (£7.6m).

The jersey was put up for sale by entrepreneur Ryan Gough through Joopiter, the digital auction house founded by Pharrell Williams. It had been estimated to sell for between $10m and $15m (£7.5m-£11.3m).

The auction house highlighted the jersey as a historic symbol of Jordan’s final championship season and his lasting impact on basketball worldwide.

“Few objects in the history of sport embody greatness as completely as Michael Jordan's game three jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals,” Joopiter said in its auction posting.

“Worn during the Last Dance... it marks the culmination of an era that transformed basketball into a global cultural phenomenon.

“Today it stands among the most important game-worn sports artifacts ever to come to market.”

Jordan’s 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello was also sold for $2.7m (£2m), four times the auction record for that model.

The record for the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia remains Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey, which sold for $24.1m (£18.2m) in 2024.