A game-worn Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $14 million, setting a new record for basketball memorabilia and becoming the second most expensive piece of sports clothing ever sold.
The red road jersey, signed by Jordan and worn during Game 2 of the 1998 championship series, changed hands in a private transaction that underscores the surging financial value attached to objects tied to the Chicago Bulls legend’s career.
The sale confirms the commercial pull of “The Last Dance” season, widely regarded as the closing chapter of Jordan’s defining run.
RELATED: EuroLeague Halts NBA Plan to Launch League in Europe
Pennsylvania-based auction house Hunt Auctions managed the negotiation, which ended with the garment delivered to Ron Firman, a real estate investor based in Miami. The shirt corresponds specifically to the second game of the Finals, played on June 5, 1998.
The context of that game accounts for much of the jersey’s value. In it, Chicago beat the Utah Jazz to even the series, which the Bulls went on to win 4-2. The victory was key to the franchise’s sixth title and to the close of the era chronicled in the media as “The Last Dance,” the season that cemented Jordan’s legacy.
Record Air. Important 1998 @NBA Finals Game Two @chicagobulls Michael Jordan game worn road jersey sold via private treaty sale for $14,000,000. The price is a world record for any basketball memorabilia item and the second highest price ever paid for a sports jersey of any… pic.twitter.com/2ax0XBvjxm
— Hunt Auctions (@HuntAuctions) October 12, 2026
A Rising Market
The international market for sports collectibles has been climbing steadily, and items from that final campaign command a premium all their own. Jerseys worn in Games 1 and 3 of the same series previously sold for $10.1 million and $12.3 million, respectively, providing a direct benchmark for the latest transaction.
The shoes Jordan wore in that second game offer another reference point, which were sold in 2023 for $2.2 million, a figure that once seemed remarkable and now reads as modest alongside the prices fetched by his game-worn shirts.
What sets the red jersey apart is the convergence of several factors at once. It is autographed, it comes from a decisive road victory, and it belongs to a season loaded with symbolic weight. Collectors have treated that specific campaign as the peak of Jordan’s market, and each authenticated piece from it tends to reset expectations upward.
The private nature of the sale also reflects how the high end of this market operates. Deals at this scale often move outside public auction rooms, arranged directly between wealthy buyers and the firms that hold the most coveted inventory. Firman, the buyer, joins a growing list of investors who treat championship-grade memorabilia as an alternative asset class rather than a sentimental purchase. Because the deal was private, details such as the exact terms and whether the seller was a collector or an institution were not disclosed in the information available.
Siempre es un buen momento para ver los mejores pósters de Michael Jordan 🔥🐐 pic.twitter.com/hWH0ukeScC
— NBA – Jordi de Mas (@demas6Basket) October 12, 2026
Behind Babe Ruth
With the $14 million price, the jersey ranks as the second most expensive sports garment sold to date. Across all sports, only one garment has commanded a higher price. That record belongs to the uniform Babe Ruth wore with the New York Yankees during the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.12 million in 2024. Jordan’s jersey still trails that figure by a wide margin, but the gap illustrates just how far basketball collectibles have climbed in a short period.
Whether other Jordan items from that series will reach the market, and at what price, remains to be seen. The Game 2 jersey now joins the Game 1 and Game 3 jerseys as part of a small group of Finals-worn pieces that have changed hands for eight-figure sums.
The broader trend shows no sign of slowing. Auction houses and private dealers continue to report strong demand for authenticated gear from iconic athletes, and Jordan remains the single most bankable name in the basketball segment. His championship items, in particular, attract interest from investors who see them as scarce, appreciating assets with global recognition.
Each new sale resets the conversation about value. The $14 million price for the Game 2 jersey surpasses the totals for the other two shirts from that series combined, a sign that the market rewards provenance and narrative as much as rarity. The buyer now holds a piece tied to one of the most documented seasons in U.S. sports history.
For collectors and investors watching the sector, the transaction sends a clear signal. Jordan-era memorabilia from the 1998 Finals has entered a price range once reserved for baseball’s most storied artifacts, and the appetite for such items remains strong.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.