Legendary Michael Jordan jersey up for auction for $5 million

A jersey worn by US basketball legend Michael Jordan will be auctioned in September and could fetch between three and five million dollars, according to the auction house Sotheby’s. Jordan wore his team’s Chicago Bulls number 23 red jersey in the first game of the 1998 NBA Finals series against the Utah Jazz in which he would win his sixth and final championship, Sotheby’s said on Wednesday.

This is only the second time a jersey worn by Jordan in a final match has been offered at auction. Most of these shirts are privately owned, according to Sotheby’s, but Jordan donated one to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

“The 1997-1998 season is perhaps one of the most popular with Jordan fans,” explained Sotheby’s Brahm Wachter. “Michael reached the height of his ability while understanding that winning an NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls was his last chance.”

Jordan jersey could match Maradona record

The 59-year-old played most of his career for the Chicago Bulls. He retired after the 1998 championship but returned to the field in 2001 for two seasons with the Washington Wizards.

The jersey now up for auction will first be exhibited in Monterey, California, before being brought to New York. The online auction runs from September 6th to 14th.

Sotheby’s auctioned a pair of Jordan basketball shoes last year for almost $1.5 million. That pales in comparison to the record price set last May for the shirt in which Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona scored his legendary ‘Hand of God’ goal and ‘Goal of the Century’ in 1986: £7.1million 8.6 million dollars or 8.4 million euros.