This weekend's auction results featured notable prices for game-used items from LeBron James and Michael Jordan, but a Babe Ruth photo and a rare Buffalo Braves collectible surpassed expectations.
Let's recap all the sales, with analysis is provided from cllct's Will Stern, Darren Rovell and Ben Burrows.
LeBron James 2017 game-used jersey
Price: $74,420
Rovell: This is marketed as the game when James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the most playoff points. Is this low? Only if you believe current game-used prices will hold. Relative: Two years ago, this didn't come close to $75,000. In the next six months, the high end game-used market will get tested. Is there enough money in this space to see it continue to skyrocket?
Stern: We’re about to see some really important data come in as James nears the end of his career and after he retires. How will his pieces hold up? Will his relevance play a role if he remains a present media figure or goes a more private route?
"Broken-foot" Michael Jordan sneakers
Price: $168,850.80
Stern: Newly uncovered photos clearly weren’t enough to protect against macro trends here. Should this pair of Air Jordans ever have been a $420,000-plus piece? Given the shoes from a game in which Jordan broke his foot, which doesn’t rank as a top moment in Jordan’s career in my mind, the answer is no.
Rovell: A 60 percent drop in price this weekend from the $422,000 these shoes were bought for in 2022. First of all, two years is a tough flip timeline. Second of all, in those two years, photo-matching became more important, and the fact these couldn’t be conclusively matched hurt things.
1915 Red Sox team photo with rookie Babe Ruth
Price: $99,822
Rovell: Collectors can debate about whether Type 1s are going to pop overall, but what’s not in question is the value of early baseball Type 1s. A 1915 Red Sox postcard, with a rookie Babe Ruth sold for more than $500,000 this year. This shot is said to be before his rookie season with the team during a spring training of sorts in Arkansas.
Stern: Here’s my first thought: Would you rather own this or a similar photo from the Murderer’s Row Yankees team?
Ernie DiGregorio 1974 Buffalo Braves jersey
Price: $91,504
Rovell: You see the James price and then you see Ernie DiGregorio. Yes, he was the 1974 Rookie of the Year, but I doubt 1 percent of sports fans know who he is. What makes this unique is that, unlike the modern market, these Braves jerseys are impossible. Last month, a warm-up jacket that might have been Bob McAdoo’s sold for nearly $66,000.
Stern: Never heard of him. Good news for collectors of history.
Ted Williams Type 1 photo
Price: $480
Rovell: Seller says it's a rookie photo, and it's a Type 1. If it’s both, in this market, this should be a $3,000 photo.
Stern: Type 1 photos have got to be the biggest gamble for both sellers and buyers when selling raw. You have to question the motive of the seller here not getting it slabbed.
Babe Ruth Platinum Cuts auto
Price: $9,288
Rovell: There are a ton of Babe Ruth autos, but this one is magnificent. It’s an 8, but it’s admittedly better than some 10’s I’ve seen.
Stern: How is this not a 10?
Tonya Harding outfit worn day after Kerrigan attack
Price: $17,485
Rovell: Sometimes I really miss. When I saw this, I said $5,000 tops. Who wants a U.S. championship-worn outfit from an event the skater won because her biggest rival was attacked and unable to compete? Who wants an outfit that was worn when the skater didn’t medal at the Olympics? I thought the market for this item was very small. Color me shocked that it got 21 bids!
Stern: Record for a figure-skating outfit!
Michael Jordan debut ticket PSA 1.5
Price" $9,417
Rovell: Since tickets got hot, this is the first Jordan debut to sell for less than $10,000. Yes, it’s the less-desirable blue ticket in a low grade, but it’s still a low mark since 2021. The population has not increased substantially since, with only 23 tickets (appropriately) graded by PSA.
Stern: I would never have predicted this market falling so far from its peak. But even now, I can’t fathom there’s much further for it to fall. But I’ve been wrong before.
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 5.5
Price: $162,123
Burrows: This result is far from a record, but it’s the best we’ve seen for this grade since early 2022. Of the three superior sales tracked by Card Ladder, two have PWCC-A designations while the other was a newly discovered example from an old collection.
This example has vibrant colors but centering issues left-right and top-bottom take away from the overall eye appeal. Even with the centering, this card still presents well enough for any collection.
2015-16 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection ‘03-04 RPA Connor McDavid /25 PSA 10
Price: $59,780
Burrows: I can’t help but think about what could have been with this card. McDavid is the best player in the NHL, and there has been plenty of discussion that he’s the most talented hockey player ever. The timing of this auction was great, too, but Edmonton just couldn’t pull off the historic comeback in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Numbered to just 25, the throwback design to the 2003-04 set is slick, but I actually prefer the presentation of the flagship RPA /97 much more. Personal preference aside, I don’t think this would have set a record for any McDavid card, but I do think it would have easily made its way above $100,000 if the Oilers had won.
Jackie Robinson 1949 All-Star debut ticket
Price: $1,868
Rovell: This price seems about Right
Walter Johnson signed check
Price: $4,306
Rovell: A real streal at that price.
Philadelphia Eagles Lightning T-Shirt
Price: $1,675
Rovell: Gonna have to see some evidence this was paid for!
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.
Ben Burrows is a report and editor for cllct.