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Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ Jersey Sells at Auction: See the Mind-Blowing Amount

Michael Jordan continues to set records — 19 years after his third and final retirement from the NBA.

The “Last Dance” jersey that Jordan wore during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz recently sold at auction house Sotheby’s for $10.091 million. It is the most ever paid for a sports memorabilia item. It passes the amount paid for Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey in May. The jersey, which Maradona wore during the 1986 FIFA World Cup, sold for $9.28 million.

The 1998 NBA Finals represented the sixth and final championship for Jordan during his career. The jersey is just the second one of Jordan’s from the NBA Finals to ever hit the auction block. It ends up selling well past its projection, which was estimated to be anywhere from $3 to $5 million. The previous record sale for any NBA jersey was the $3.69 million paid in May 2021 for a game-worn Kobe Bryant jersey from his 1996-97 rookie season.

“The season itself is his ‘magnum opus’ as an athlete, and a testament to him as a champion and competitor,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectables, said in a statement, via ESPN. “Finals jerseys from Jordan are remarkably scant and the [1998] Finals are arguably the most coveted of them all.”

Michael Jordan “Last Dance” Jersey on Par With Sell of Mickey Mantle Trading Card

Jordan’s “Last Dance” jersey is just the latest collectible to sell for a substantial amount. Last month, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold with Heritage Auctions for a record-shattering $12.6 million including buyer’s premium. The 9.5 grade card was the highest ever amount paid for a sports card. The Mantle card also became the first sports collectible to break the $10 million threshold.

The sell of the “Last Dance” Jordan jersey joins Mantle’s card at the top. Wachter said that the record-breaking sale proves that Jordan is the “undisputed GOAT.”

“In the weeks since we announced the auction, there’s been palpable excitement from not only sports fans, but collectors alike who are eager to own a rarified piece of history,” Wachter said in a statement following the sale. “[The] record-breaking result, with an astounding 20 bids, solidifies Michael Jordan as the undisputed GOAT, proving his name and incomparable legacy is just as relevant as it was nearly 25 years ago.”