A public sale record for a game-used NBA jersey occurred Tuesday night when Michael Jordan’s jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Final went for \(12.26 million. However, Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series “called shot" still remains king in the sports jersey world, selling for \)24.12 million in 2024.
A public sale record for a game-used NBA jersey occurred Tuesday night when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals — the famed “Last Dance” season — went for $12.26 million through Pharrell Williams’ auction house Joopiter.
Tuesday’s sale topped the previous high for a Jordan jersey when the one he wore in Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals landed nearly \(10.1 million in a 2022 Sotheby’s auction. Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series “called shot” jersey still remains king in the sports jersey world, though, selling for \)24.12 million in 2024.
Joopiter placed a pre-auction estimate for the Game 3 jersey between \(10 million and \)15 million. The jersey received one bid before the auction closed Tuesday evening.
“It has been a privilege for Joopiter to bring such an important piece of Michael Jordan’s legacy to market, and to see it establish a new auction record for an NBA jersey,” Joopiter’s global head of sale Caitlin Donovan said. “Sports collectibles are in an exceptionally exciting period of evolution, as the category continues to mature and objects of true rarity, provenance and cultural significance are increasingly recognized on the global collecting stage.”
Joopiter has now brought several rare Jordan sports cards and memorabilia to auction. A signed Jordan 1986 Fleer rookie card with a Mint PSA 9 card grade and Gem Mint 10 autograph grade sold for \(2.5 million in June 2025 through the auction house. Jordan’s custom 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello is currently up for auction, with bidding over \)1 million, and is set to end Wednesday.
The record sale is just another sign of Jordan’s continued popularity within the sports collectibles industry. He’s consistently the most searched athlete within the space on eBay every month and has more cards graded than any other athlete across all sports, according to graded card population tracker GemRate. His sports card also stands as the most expensive public sale ever, according to online sales database Card Ladder, as a Jordan/Kobe Bryant 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite dual NBA Logoman patch autograph one-of-one, PSA 6 card/10 auto grade sold for $12.9 million in August 2025 through Heritage Auctions.