Once bought for $800, Michael Jordan's first Bulls jersey sells for $4.2 million

When Michael Jordan first pulled the red Chicago Bulls jersey over his head for his NBA preseason debut in Peoria, Ill., against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 5, 1984, nobody would have guessed he had just created one of the most significant pieces of sports memorabilia in history.

Yet, more than 40 years later, the jersey became exactly that — selling for $4.2 million against a $10 million estimate Wednesday afternoon at Sotheby’s.

The final price fell short of the record for any Jordan jersey, set at $10.1 million in 2022 for one worn during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals, though it ranks among the top three Jordan jerseys to ever sell publicly.

The most shocking part? Someone could have bought it for $1,000 in 1984. Instead, they backed out.

"It was a piece of laundry"

Jordan scored 18 points in that first preseason game, playing in front of a crowd of around 2,000 people. There were no photos of the game, only video.

Authenticator MeiGray utilized a method of forensic analysis to compare the distance between the numbers on the back of the jersey with the video footage in order to confirm it was indeed the same jersey. It’s the only photo-matched jersey from Jordan’s rookie season known to exist.

He also wore the jersey in his second and third preseason games. Then, it was essentially cast aside.

“It was a piece of laundry,” Brahm Wachter, SVP and head of modern collectables at Sotheby’s told cllct, referencing how little regard players and teams had for memorabilia back in those days.

The now-iconic jersey was such an afterthought, the Bulls couldn’t even be bothered to produce a jersey specifically for their incoming rookie. A look at the letters on the back of the jersey shows it had previously had a different name, with an apparent “W” and “I” visible — perhaps indicating it was once used by Mitchell Wiggins, who played for the Bulls the prior season (though Sotheby’s makes no claim as to the previous player).

At some point after the jersey was cast aside, the Bulls sent it to a Washington Bullets charity auction.

The winning bid in that auction was just $1,000 — but the top bidder did not pay! So, the jersey was awarded to the underbidder, who ended up with Jordan’s professional debut jersey for $800.

In 2009, it resurfaced again, selling for $66,000 at Grey Flannel. In the lot description, former Bulls Director of public relations Tim Hallam is quoted as telling the original consignor, “If that jersey has a number and name change, sounds like you have the very first jersey this organization issued Michael Jordan.”

That was the last time it sold publicly until Wednesday afternoon.

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Game-worn collecting has come a long way since the Bullets charity auction. Nearly all of the most expensive sales for game-worn jerseys have come since 2019. The most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold is Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot” jersey, which nabbed $24.12 million in August 2024. It had sold in 2005 for less than $1 million.

“You sort of have this virality element where you can own the things from the moment,” Wachter told cllct last year. “As the social presence for the NBA has grown ... I think that's partially what makes these NBA jerseys so desirable. It's like you can own that moment that you see on social.”

Traditionally, preseason memorabilia pales in comparison to regular season, in terms of value and desirability. In fact, it’s incredibly rare to see preseason jerseys from Jordan’s era sell at all. But given the fact his NBA debut jersey is not known to the public, collectors clearly see his first pro jersey as the next best thing.

Of course, the world’s obsession with Jordan has plenty to do with the rapid rise in prices for his key jerseys.

Often credited to “The Last Dance,” Jordan’s memorabilia and cards surged during the pandemic collectibles boom … and never quite faded like much of the rest of the industry.

More than $50 million in photo-matched sales of Jordan game-used memorabilia have occurred at public auction, nearly double the second athlete, Kobe Bryant.

Perhaps the best example of the explosive growth of Jordan memorabilia is seen in the jersey he held up for cameras during his introductory press conference in September 1984. It sold for $81,180 in 2019, then again for $320,000 17 months later. Four years after that, it sold for $500,000.

Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.

Once bought for $800, Michael Jordan's first Bulls jersey sells for $4.2 million

Worn during MJ's 1984 preseason debut, jersey was once sold in a Washington Bullets charity auction

"It was a piece of laundry"