Michael Jordan's Iconic 'Last Dance' Jersey Could Fetch $100 Million At Auction
Credit: Fadeaway World
One of Michael Jordan’s most iconic game-worn jerseys is heading to auction, and its owner thinks that it could be the first jersey ever to sell for an astonishing $100 million.
The jersey was worn by Jordan during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz and is part of the legendary Last Dance season, in which Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their sixth championship in eight years.
Sports investor and actor Rob Gough, who currently owns the jersey, will put it up for auction at Pharrell Williams’ Joopiter auction house beginning September 15. Gough told the Angela Barbuti of the New York Post that he believes the jersey has the potential to completely reset the sports memorabilia market.
“I think this will be the first jersey to hit $100 million. It’s not like I knew where it was or it was easy to find … This person led to this person, which led to the other person. Unfortunately, I never got to the actual owner of the jersey; I got to a middleman who probably made millions of dollars.”
That number would completely destroy the existing record for a game-worn jersey. Jordan’s jersey from Game 1 of the same 1998 Finals sold for $10.1 million in 2022.
Gough believes this Game 3 jersey carries even more historical significance because of what happened when Jordan was wearing it.
The Bulls crushed the Jazz 96-54 in Game 3, winning by 42 points in what remains the largest margin of victory in NBA Finals history. Jordan had 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block as the Bulls took a 2-1 series lead.
For Gough, the fact that Jordan dominated in such a historic victory makes this jersey even more valuable.
The 1998 Finals represented Jordan’s final run with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls eventually defeated the Jazz in six games as Jordan delivered his famous championship-winning jumper over Bryon Russell in Game 6. Jordan won NBA Finals MVP, averaging 33.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists during the series.
Gough said that acquiring the Game 3 jersey required what he described as a wild treasure hunt. He eventually purchased it through an intermediary but never learned the identity of the original owner because of an NDA.
He initially had the jersey on display in his Puerto Rico home for two years before eventually storing it in a vault.
Gough is already an established figure in the high-end collectibles market. He purchased a rare 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card for $5.2 million, and he claims he later sold it for an eight-figure sum. His collection also includes jerseys from Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Brady, and Wayne Gretzky.
And still, this 1998 Jordan jersey is on another level.
A $100 million price would represent nearly 10 times the existing basketball jersey record and put the piece into a completely historic category of collectible investment.
Whether Gough can push the price anywhere near that remains to be seen. But given Jordan’s global fame, the significance of the Last Dance season, and the historic Game 3 attached to the jersey, this could be one of the biggest sports memorabilia auctions ever.