Michael Jordan is arguably the biggest name when it comes to basketball. His name and skills on a court are known Worldwide and since the late 1980’s and into the early 90’s he became a household name.
Making his debut in 1984, Jordan burst onto the scene winning the NBA rookie of the year, and Jordan’s career would only continue to rise from here on out. He set new standards on and off the basketball court. Some of his accolades read as follows:
- 6 NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls
- 6 time NBA finals MVP (Most Valuable Player)
- 5 time Season MVP
- 14 time NBA All-Star
- 10 NBA scoring champion
- 2 x Slam dunk contest winner
- Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the year
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
All of this is staggering enough, but to think that Michael Jordan also changed the way that sponsorship of athletes would be viewed going forward. HIs partnership with Nike has been a global revelation with the trainer/sneaker brand far exceeding their expectations with the Jordan sponsorship. The Air Jordan shoes were born out of that collaboration and soon followed the Jordan brand as a whole.
With the recent passing of Kobe Bryant, basketball pieces rose in value with some Kobe items increasing by nearly 8 times their previous value. Jordan’s signature also went up during this time with people wanting to get their hands on an item from this legend due to what was in the news. The recent Netflix series ‘The Last Dance’ will also reinvigorate the public’s passion for Jordan and thus push memorabilia prices even higher so the sooner you acquire a Jordan piece, the better!
His career as a player is over and is of an elite level, so that can never be tarnished or taken away. He now owns a majority share, and runs the Charlotte Hornets team seeking to win more NBA titles but this time as a team boss instead of a player.
Items signed by Jordan are hard to come by and thus fetch a premium in price, beware that A LOT of fakes of Jordan’s signature are on the market. Recently an NBA All Star jersey worn and signed by Jordan sold for a whopping $216,000! If you’re looking to purchase a signed Jordan piece we would recommend the following in order of prestige and price:
- Number 23 Chicago Bulls Jersey (Red or White) – Although the white jersey is the home vest for the Bulls, Jordan is more associated with the red away jersey. Expect to pay around £4,000-£8,000 ($5,000-$10,000) for a signed jersey with good authenticity. We’d expect to see Jordan jerseys easily hit the £15,000-£20,000 range within a few years.
- Signed Jordan Trainers/Sneakers – The Jordan (Air Jordan) brand initially started out as a line of basketball shoes (trainers/sneakers) and a signed pair is a brilliant piece to get. They are more rare than the jerseys and cost a little less in price, but you can rest assured that they’ll be a collectors item one day and they fit the market for basketball fans the sneaker collectors!
- Number 9 All Star Jersey – These are harder to come by than the Bull’s jerseys, but don’t fetch the same kind of money, however, a nice piece if it’s something different that you’re looking for.
- Signed basketballs – A little bulky to display, but a brilliant piece nonetheless.
- Trading/Basketball Cards – Basketball cards have a huge following in the United States, but investing in these does restrict your market to that of America and Canada, however a mint condition rookie card signed by the man himself can fetch a small fortune!
- Other Jerseys – Black Chicago Bulls Jerseys (Third vest) look fantastic in our opinion, but they aren’t anywhere near as iconic as the White or Red jerseys. If black is your thing, these look awesome.
After his first retirement, Jordan returned to the Bulls wearing the number 45. These jerseys do have a little bit of a following, but very few and far between.
Jordan also played one game in the number 12 jersey. While these are once again very rare, they simply do not have the market of a 23 or even 45 numbered shirt.
Space Jam jerseys are another option, but unless you are working with a very tight budget and just want to get your hands on anything signed by Jordan, we’d avoid these.
Michael Jordan is mentioned in the same breath as Muhammed Ali and Tiger Woods, company which he thoroughly deserves to be part of. His number 23 jersey was retired in 2003 by his famous Chicago Bulls, but also by the Miami Heat as a sign of respect for the greatest player of all time. His legacy is unrivalled and his name is forever etched in history as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Michael Jordan memorabilia is like the man himself, World Class, once in a lifetime and as close to a guarantee as you can get!
Score – 98/100
Additional – Since this blog was originally written in April of 2020, a signed Michael Jordan jersey has gone up from around $6,000 to a staggering $15,000 and they show little sign of slowing down.
