An autographed Chicago Bulls jersey that Michael Jordan wore in a preseason game during his rookie year sold for $4.215 million at an auction that closed Wednesday.
Sotheby’s billed it as the only game-worn photo-matched Jordan rookie jersey to publicly surface at an auction. Sotheby’s said a private collector made the winning bid.
MeiGray stated that it believes this is the first jersey Jordan ever wore while playing in the NBA. MeiGray examined video footage from Jordan’s first NBA game while working with forensic analysis firm Proven Data.
That first preseason game took place Oct. 5, 1984, in Peoria, Illinois.
MeiGray photo-matched the jersey to Oct. 13, 1984, which was Jordan’s fourth NBA game. Sports Investors Authenticated photo-matched it to Oct. 7, 1984, which would have been his second game.
Sotheby’s said it could be authenticated this extensively because it appeared previous players had worn the jersey before Jordan got it. There are dark stains under the name “Jordan” and under the 23 where it appears multiple other players’ names and numbers had previously appeared.
Jordan switched jerseys for his regular-season debut and for the rest of the 1984-85 season.
ESPN reported that this is the fifth-most-expensive NBA jersey ever to get sold by auction. Two of the four jerseys to bring higher prices also were worn by Jordan.
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