Jim Irsay's Memorabilia Collection Sells for over $93M at Auctions, $50M More Than Estimated

A memorabilia collection belonging to former Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay brought in significantly more at auction than originally anticipated.

Per ESPN's Dan Hajducky, the collection sold for a total of $93.7 million during live auctions held between March 12-14 at Christie's Auction House.

Hajducky noted pre-auction estimates projected the items to sell for $40 million total.

Some of the notable items listed as part of the collection on Christie's website include various musical instruments that belonged to members of The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Prince and Johnny Cash; an original manuscript by Jack Kerouac; and sports artifacts linked to Jackie Robinson, Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali.

The most expensive item sold during the live auction was Pink Floyd lead guitarist David Gilmour's Fender Stratocaster that went for $14.55 million. It was originally estimated to go for between $2-4 million.

Per the official listing, Gilmour used the guitar in recordings for Pink Floyd and solo albums between 1970-1983, including The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall.

According to Hajducky, the auction set 23 records, including the most paid for a guitar and literary manuscript. The latter was for the scroll that Kerouac wrote his first draft of On the Road, which sold for $12.135 million.

Irsay's daughters—Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson—announced last October that they were going to sell off items from his memorabilia collection and donate a portion of the proceeds to various philanthropic ventures.

Jim Irsay died at the age of 65 on May 21, 2025. He took over as owner the Colts in 1997 following the death of his father.

During Iray's tenure as owner, the Colts made the playoffs 16 times, won 10 division titles and a Super Bowl win in two appearances.