Michael Jordan is one of the most influential figures in basketball history, and there are many people out there that consider him the best player that the sport has seen. As such, it makes sense that memorabilia related to Michael Jordan carries a hefty price tag.
Dan Hajducky of ESPN has recently revealed that a ticket stub from Michael Jordan’s NBA debut has sold for a record $264,000. The previous record was a $175,000 ticket stub from the 1903 World Series.
The highest-graded ticket stub (bestowed with a grade of EX-MT 6 from Professional Sports Authenticator, or PSA) from Michael Jordan’s NBA debut sold for $264,000 at auction, breaking the record for most expensive collectible sports ticket ever sold.
The sale, conducted by Huggins & Scott Auctions, includes a 20% buyer’s premium. Even without said premium, the sale still would have broken the previous record, set in October when a ticket stub from Game 3 of the 1903 (and first) World Series sold for $175,000 at Christie’s.
Jordan made his NBA debut on Oct. 26, 1984, at the now-demolished Chicago Stadium. More than 13,000 were in attendance to see Jordan’s Bulls beat the Washington Bullets 109-93.
Jordan scored 16 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. He also blocked four shots, the third most by a rookie in a team’s season opener all time.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Michael Jordan-related item sell for an exorbitant price. For example, a Michael Jordan game-worn Tar Heels jersey sold for $1.38 million earlier this year.
Michael Jordan has had an immense impact on the popularity and evolution of basketball, and even beyond that, he is known as one of the greatest athletes ever. It is likely that we see more auctions of his items in the future, and Jordan is still breaking records after retirement.
