Michael Jordan’s legacy as one of basketball’s most influential players has reached another financial milestone after a game-worn jersey from his final NBA championship season sold for $14 million.
The signed red Chicago Bulls jersey, which Jordan wore during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, changed hands in a private sale arranged by Hunt Auctions. The auction house announced the transaction on Monday, October 12, identifying Miami real estate investor and memorabilia collector Ron Firman as the buyer.
The sale establishes a record for the most expensive piece of basketball memorabilia, surpassing the previous mark set by another Jordan jersey from the same Finals series. It also ranks as the second-highest price paid for a game-worn sports jersey, behind a 1932 World Series jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth that sold for $24.12 million in 2024.
David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, said the transaction reflected Jordan’s enduring influence on sport and popular culture.
“While Michael Jordan’s importance within the sports memorabilia marketplace has long been established it has now escalated to an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art,” Hunt said in a statement.
Jordan wore the jersey on June 5, 1998, when the Bulls faced the Jazz in Salt Lake City for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Chicago entered the game after losing the opener and needed a response to avoid falling two games behind in the best-of-seven series. Jordan delivered 37 points, five rebounds and three assists as the Bulls secured a 93-88 victory, levelling the series at one game apiece.
The Bulls eventually defeated Utah in six games, claiming their sixth NBA championship of the decade. Jordan also collected his sixth Finals Most Valuable Player award, completing a run in which he won the honour every time Chicago captured the title during his championship era.
The 1997–98 campaign marked the final championship season for the Bulls team built around Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. Its eventual breakup added to the historical importance of memorabilia from that period.
The season later reached a new generation of basketball fans through The Last Dance, the 10-part documentary series released in 2020. The production revisited the Bulls’ championship run and Jordan’s career, renewing interest in the players, games and objects associated with the team’s final title.
The $14 million transaction is the third time a jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals has fetched more than $10 million.
In September 2026, Jordan’s white home jersey from Game 3 sold for $12.26 million through Joopiter, the auction platform founded by musician and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams. That sale surpassed the previous record for Jordan memorabilia, set when his Game 1 jersey sold for approximately $10.1 million in 2022.
Jordan’s market extends beyond jerseys. In 2023, a pair of Air Jordan sneakers he wore during Game 2 of the 1998 Finals sold for $2.2 million through Sotheby’s, setting a record for the most expensive sneakers sold at the time.
Firman expressed excitement about acquiring the jersey, acknowledging Jordan’s international standing as a sporting figure.
