A Jordan jersey could be the most valuable sports item in history: $100 million!
On September 15, the garment the legend wore in Game 3 of the 1998 Finals, when he won his sixth ring with the Bulls before retiring, will be auctioned.
T he jersey Michael Jordan wore in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals could become the most valuable item in sports history. It will be auctioned on September 15 and could fetch $100 million!
It's the white jersey the legend wore in the third game of the series against the Jazz. In addition to being one of his last games with the Bulls, during his "Last Dance" season , he wore it in a matchup that ended with a score of 96-54 .
To make the garment even more unique, those 42 points are the largest margin in an NBA Finals game . On that June 7, given the wide gap on the scoreboard, Jordan played only 32 minutes , his lowest total in those playoffs, and scored 24 points .
' The current owner of the jersey is sports investor and actor Rob Gough , who came into possession of it years ago through various intermediaries without ever getting to know who really owned it. He has other historic pieces worn by legends such as Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Brady and Wayne Gretzky . "It’s about acquiring pieces that sit at the intersection of the greatest athlete, the greatest stage, and a defining moment," he says.'
Now he is putting it up for auction because he believes it was not being appreciated as it deserves. "I have many wonderful works of art. And when people come to the house, they skip over them to go straight to the jersey . That was when I realized that this is the new modern art" , says Gough.
I have many wonderful works of art. And when people come to the house, they skip past them to go straight to the jersey
Another Jordan jersey, used in the first game of those 1998 NBA Finals, was sold for $10.1 million in 2022 . However, the Bulls lost that game 88-85 after overtime. "I don't buy pieces from games in which a player loses because one thinks, 'That jersey on the wall, remember when Michael Jordan lost that game?' You just don't say that," he concludes.
Gough had already made a name for himself in the collectibles industry after buying a rare 1952 baseball card of star Mickey Mantle for $5.2 million in 2021.
