The only game-worn photo-matched jersey to ever surface from Michael Jordan's 1984-85 rookie season with the Chicago Bulls -- believed to be the first worn by the Hall of Famer in the NBA -- sold at auction for $4.215 million by Sotheby's, it was announced Wednesday.
It is the fifth-most-expensive NBA jersey ever sold at auction.
Only a jersey that Jordan wore during 17 games during the 1996-97 NBA season ($4.7 million), Wilt Chamberlain's 1972 NBA Finals Game 5 championship-clinching Lakers jersey ($4.9 million), Kobe Bryant's 2007-08 MVP game-worn and signed Lakers jersey ($5.85 million) and Jordan's "Last Dance" jersey ($10.091 million) have sold for more, the last of which set the record paid for an item of sports memorabilia in September 2022.
Photo-matching company MeiGray, alongside forensic analysis outfit Proven Data, matched the jersey to preseason games played in 1984 on Oct. 5, 7, 13 and 18. In its authentication letter, MeiGray said it believes that the jersey was Jordan's first to be worn "while playing in the NBA."
The Bulls' preseason game against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 5, 1984, was played in front of 2,000 fans in Peoria, Illinois.
The jersey was also photo-matched by Sports Investors Authenticated, though SIA only photo-matched the jersey to the games on Oct. 7 and 13 -- and includes a letter from James Spence Authentication certifying the autograph.
The jersey is noticeably repurposed from a previous player (or multiples). On the jersey's back, there are darkened stains near the name and numbers where those of a previous Bulls player were removed. The front of the jersey features a gigantic Jordan signature -- signed "My Very Best" -- to the right of the 23.
The last time this particular Jordan jersey was sold, it was auctioned off by Grey Flannel Auctions for $66,000. The description from that lot included a letter from the Chicago Bulls from May 1985 in which the consignor said the Bulls' then-PR director said, "if that jersey has a number and name change, sounds like you have the very first jersey this organization issued Michael Jordan."
