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Dan Hajducky
Multiple Authors
An on-card autographed 1997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey Michael Jordan card, with a jersey swatch embedded from the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, has sold privately via Goldin Auctions for $4.25 million. It’s the most paid for a solo Michael Jordan card.
The card received a 6 grade from card grader Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), with an autograph grade of 9.
“Beyond our success in generating auction records, we remain dedicated to facilitating transactions between private buyers and sellers to enhance the world’s most prestigious collections and portfolios,” Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, told ESPN.
The previous record paid for a solo Jordan belonged to a 1-of-1 numbered, on-card autographed Jordan Logoman from the 2003-04 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection, which sold for $2.928 million in mid-2024. Another autographed 1997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey Jordan card sold privately, also via Goldin Auctions, for $2.7 million in late 2021.
Series 1 of 1997-98 Upper Deck Basketball featured the 22-card Game Jerseys insert set, including Jordan, with the odds of pulling one at 1:2,500 packs. These were the first game-worn NBA jersey cards to come to market. Series 2 boasted on-card signed, hand-numbered to 23, game-worn Jordan jersey cards which featured not just a game-worn jersey patch, but swatches cut from his 1992 NBA All-Star Game (which doubled as a farewell to Magic Johnson, a fan-voted starter after he retired in November 1991) jersey.
“This card represents a perfect storm of rarity and player significance,” Goldin said. “It was produced during Jordan’s second championship three-peat — the era that cemented his global legacy — and combines three premium elements into a single piece: a game-used jersey patch, an on-card autograph and an extremely low serial number limited to only 23 copies to match his uniform number.”
Game-worn Jordan patches and signatures have appeared on two of the three most expensive sports cards sold: The on-card autographed, 1-of-1 numbered 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autograph card featuring Jordan and Kobe Bryant ($12.932 million) and the on-card autographed, 1-of-1 numbered 2006-07 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autograph card featuring Jordan and LeBron James ($10 million).
This was the most expensive basketball card Goldin Auctions has ever sold, publicly or privately.
