CHICAGO — Michael Jordan added another record to his résumé this week without playing a minute, touching a basketball, or even being particularly involved beyond having worn a shirt in 1998.
A game-worn Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals reportedly sold for $14 million, setting a new record for an NBA jersey and surpassing another Jordan jersey that had established the previous mark only weeks earlier.
League historians confirmed Jordan is now competing primarily against old versions of himself.
The sale immediately strengthened the growing belief that Jordan’s 1998 season may never actually end, as virtually every object that came within several feet of him continues appreciating in value decades later.
Auction experts said the jersey’s appeal comes from its historical significance, rarity and connection to Jordan’s final Bulls championship run.
Collectors summarized the reasoning more efficiently:
“Michael Jordan touched it.”
The latest sale means Jordan can apparently still break NBA records by doing things he completed before several current players were born.
Sources close to the memorabilia industry say attention has now shifted toward other surviving artifacts from 1998, including warm-up jackets, sneakers, towels and potentially a folding chair Jordan may have looked at during Game 4.
At press time, younger NBA stars were reportedly asking how many championships they would need to win before their laundry became a legitimate alternative asset class.
