Michael Jordan 1998 Finals Game 2 jersey sells privately for $14 million, Hunt Auctions says

A red Chicago Bulls road jersey that Michael Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $14 million, Hunt Auctions announced today, Oct. 12. The Pennsylvania-based auction house says it is the most ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia.

The buyer is Ron Firman, identified in the announcement as a Miami real estate investor. Hunt Auctions says he is originally from Rye, New York. The deal was a private treaty sale, not a public auction, so there was no open bidding and the price is the figure Hunt Auctions gave.

What the jersey is

Jordan wore it on June 5, 1998, when the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 93-88 to even the series at a game apiece. He scored 37 points. The Bulls won the series in six games, the sixth and last title of Jordan's career, and he was Finals MVP.

The jersey is autographed. Hunt Auctions says it was photomatched to Game 2 by MeiGray Authentication and SIA Authentication, and that Upper Deck authenticated the signature.

The chain of ownership is short. A private collector bought it directly from the Bulls in 2003, and Hunt says it has changed hands only once since. A 2003 letter from Jeff Schultz, the Bulls' longtime director of community relations, called it "one of the finest examples of any game worn jersey I have ever seen in my 15+ years of managing the Chicago Bulls memorabilia."

Where $14 million ranks

Only one game-worn jersey is known to have sold for more. Babe Ruth's Yankees jersey from his 1932 World Series "called shot" home run went for $24.12 million at Heritage Auctions in 2024. It had sold for $940,000 in 2005.

For basketball, the old high was a card featuring Jordan and Kobe Bryant that sold for $12.9 million last year, the BBC reported.

The Jordan market itself has been climbing fast. This is at least the third jersey from the 1998 Finals to bring $10 million or more:

• Game 1 red road jersey: about $10.09 million at auction in 2022.
• Game 3 white home jersey: $12.26 million at a Sept. 29 auction, about two weeks ago.
• Game 2 red road jersey: $14 million, private sale, announced today.

The Game 2 price tops the Game 3 jersey's $12.26 million, which sold about two weeks ago. Hunt Auctions said it considers the red jerseys "holy grails" because Jordan was wearing one when he took his last shot as a Bull in Game 6. The firm says Jordan wore red in Games 1, 2 and 6.

The buyer and the seller's pitch

Firman's X account describes him as a "Commercial Real Estate Co. Principal. Partner in private co. who's trading is comparable to a hedge fund's. Rare Vintage Sports Memorabilia Collector." His last post there was Nov. 29, 2022.

He also recently paid $3 million for the 1951 Mickey Mantle photo that served as the basis for Mantle's 1952 Topps rookie card, which was also described as a record.

"Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world," Firman said in a statement released by Hunt Auctions. "I'm very excited about the purchase."

David Hunt, the auction house's president, framed the sale as proof of a larger shift. "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," he said.

Hunt also said that, in his firm's opinion and after 36 years in the market, "Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan stand above all others in the history of American sports." That is a seller talking about its own market. Hunt Auctions facilitated this deal and has a commercial stake in how it is read.

Jordan's final season with the Bulls was the subject of "The Last Dance," the 10-episode documentary released in 2020. In 2023, Sotheby's sold a pair of sneakers Jordan wore in Game 2 against the Jazz for $2.2 million, billed at the time as the most valuable sneakers ever sold.

What the sale shows

Hunt Auctions says only one of the three red road jerseys from Games 1, 2 and 6 had previously sold at public auction. That was the Game 1 jersey in 2022. The Game 6 jersey is the one tied to Jordan's last shot as a Bull. Hunt Auctions has not said where it is or whether it is for sale.