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Michael Jordan North Carolina jersey sells for record $1.3M in Heritage Spring Auction
The only known Michael Jordan game-worn jersey from his storied college career at the University of North Carolina sold for a record $1.38 million during Heritage Auctions’ Spring Sports Catalog Auction on Saturday.
The sale is the highest-ever for a Michael Jordan jersey.
The No. 23 Carolina blue and white jersey, which is photo-matched to his 1982-83 Player of the Year season, sold for $1,380,000, smashing the previous record for a Jordan jersey — a photo-matched, Jordan-worn Chicago Bulls uniform from the 1986-87 season, which Heritage sold for $480,000 in October.
Heritage called the jersey “the most significant Jordan artifact to reach auction.”
“It simply doesn’t get any better than this,” said Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage.
“Over the last year Heritage has set dozens of world records in the red-hot Michael Jordan collectibles market, and now we’re extremely proud to have shattered the records for a Jordan game-worn jersey. As the final price tag proves, this jersey has everything any serious collector could possibly want.”
Jordan was wearing the jersey in a photo on the cover of The Sporting News issue that proclaimed him the 1982-83 NCAA Player of the Year. Jordan hit the game-winning shot in 1982 to lift North Carolina over Georgetown in the national championship game — a moment Jordan later said “started my career.”
In 1983, the sweat-drenched uniform was traded among team managers for North Carolina and Stanford following the Stanford Invitational tournament at Maples Pavilion. It was first sold at auction in 1999 for a then-record $63,500.
The Jordan jersey was the highlight of a Heritage auction that totaled more than $33.5M in sales, including $960,000 for a 1952 Jackie Robinson card and $528,000 for a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle.
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
