Michael Jordan finally sold his Chicago mansion this week for $9.5 million, a massive discount from its original asking price of $29 million when it first hit the market in 2012.
If the house can be considered a piece of Jordan memorabilia, it would not even rank first overall, sitting behind the 2022 sale of his “Last Dance” jersey from Game 1 of 1998 NBA Finals for $10.1 million.
Estee Portnoy, senior vice president at Jump Management, Jordan's family office, confirmed the sale to cllct.
Despite plenty of publicity surrounding the home, which features an indoor basketball court, putting green, nine bedrooms, 19 bathrooms and a 14-car garage — all of which greet visitors from inside the front gate adorned with the No. 23 — the home struggled to find any buyers.
Jordan last cut the price of the home to $14.855 million in 2015, which, if you add up the digits, equals his No. 23 jersey number.
It seems that easter egg did little to entice prospective buyers.
The sale of the house closes a chapter on a 12-year long odyssey and offers a rare example of a financial miscue on the part of the Hall of Famer.
Jordan’s entire identity outside the basketball court is one of a shrewd businessman. His $90 million career NBA earnings were nothing to sneeze at, but it's deals with brands such as Nike, Hanes, Gatorade and his sale of the Charlotte Hornets that earned him mogul status, arriving on the Forbes billionaire list as the 999th richest member with a net-worth of $3.5 billion.
Michael Jordan's Chicago mansion finally sold for $9.5 million, less than a third of the original 2012 listing price.
— cllct (@cllctMedia) December 12, 2024
The home sold for $600k less than his 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 "Last Dance" jersey that sold for $10.1m. pic.twitter.com/WrWYIvGiV9
Yet, having purchased the seven-acre plot of land in 1991 and building the house in 1995, according to The Athletic, Jordan was left with a fraction of the price he had hoped for — perhaps due to the age of the house (it was renovated in 2009 according to Zillow), or, more likely, the miscalculation that the next owner would pay a premium for the home due to Jordan’s provenance.
Considering the front gate’s unavoidable branding and the home’s long association with the star, the unidentified buyer will have a choice to make: Convert the house to their preferences (perhaps they have a jersey number of their own they would like to place on the front gate), or, if they value the provenance, convert the estate into a Jordan museum.
Regardless of the outcome, Jordan’s wallet won’t be affected much, especially considering he cashed out of his stake in the Hornets last year while the team was estimated to be worth $3 billion, having purchased the team for $275 million in 2010.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.