The 10 Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia Items of All Time
Trading cards have become national news in recent years thanks to some high-profile sales landing well north of $1 million, but they are not the only pieces of sports memorabilia that can command an astronomical figure at auction.
Iconic jerseys of sports legends and various other sports equipment can also fetch a pretty penny, and just a few years ago a Babe Ruth jersey from the game of his famed "called shot" more than doubled the previous record sale for a piece of sports memorabilia.
The most expensive sports memorabilia items are a wide-ranging collection of sports history spanning baseball, basketball, soccer and even the Olympics.
TOP NEWS
Most memorable injury comebacks ahead of Mahomes return
2026 NFL Trade Block Big Board Entering Week 2 ๐
Rodgers Sick of Target Talk ๐
10 MOST EXPENSIVE SPORTS MEMORABILIA ITEMS OF ALL TIME
Sale Price: $24,120,000 | Date: August 2024
There may be no more iconic moment in baseball history than Babe Ruth's called shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, and while the debate rages on whether it actually happened, there is no doubt this is the jersey he was wearing in that game.
The jersey was originally acquired in 1990 from an elderly woman in Florida whose father was a golfing buddy of Ruth's and was gifted the jersey by him after his retirement. It sold for $940,000 in 2005, before it was verified to be from Game 3 specifically, and now it stands as the single most expensive piece of sports memorabilia of all time.
Sale Price: $10,091,100 | Date: September 2022
Estimated to fetch between $3-5 million by Sotheby's, Jordan's jersey from Game 1 of his last NBA Finals instead more than doubled that to briefly become the most valuable jersey sale of all-time. The Bulls actually lost Game 1 of those finals in overtime against the Utah Jazz, though Jordan dropped a game-high 33 points.
Sale Price: $9,280,000 | Date: May 2022
"A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God."
Those famous words from Diego Maradona helped turn his handball goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals against England into one of the most iconic moments in sports history.
The ball from that same play also recently sold at auction, fetching $3,355,000 in August 2026.
Sale Price: $8,806,500 | Date: December 2019
A 14-page speech from French aristocrat and educator Pierre de Coubertin to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the French Athletics Association culminated in a proposal to revive the ancient Olympic games. Two years later, the IOC was formed and the first modern games took place in Athens in 1896.
The only known copy of the speech was tracked down by French diplomat Franรงois d'Amat in the early 1990s in Switzerland after years of searching. Estimated to sell for between $700,000 and $1 million, it shattered expectations to become the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia at the time of the sale.
Sale Price: $8,032,800 | Date: February 2024
From the Sotheby's auction listing: "A set of 6 individual Air Jordan sneakers โ each one worn by Michael Jordan in the clinching games of his 6 career NBA championships. The set consists of an Air Jordan VI (1991), Air Jordan VII (1992), Air Jordan VIII (1993), Air Jordan XI (1996), Air Jordan XII (1997), and Air Jordan XIV (1998)."
Jordan gave Bulls PR executive Tim Hallam a signed, game-worn sneaker following his first title in 1991, and continued the tradition after his subsequent five Finals-clinching games, thus creating this unique single-shoe collection.
Sale Price: $7,800,000 | Date: December 2023
Tech startup AC Momento, for which Lionel Messi is an investor, secured the first-half jerseys worn by Messi during the 2022 World Cup. They ended up with a collection of six jerseys, only excluding a group-stage match with Poland, and importantly centered around his World Cup final jersey when Messi scored twice and Argentina beat France.
A portion of the sale was donated to UNICAS Project, which focuses on children suffering from rare diseases.
Sale Price: $7,004,000 | Date: April 2025
The description doesn't quite do this one justice, as thanks to advanced photo matching technology, this jersey can be tied directly to his NBA media day, Bryant's preseason debut (Oct. 16, 1996), his regular-season debut (Nov. 3, 1996) and five other games from his rookie season.
The jersey previously sold for $115,242 at auction in 2012, making it the perfect snapshot of just how much growth has occurred in the high-end sports memorabilia market over the past decade-plus.
Sale Price: $6,180,000 | Date: July 2022
On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out the previously undefeated George Foreman to reclaim the world heavyweight championship in one of the most anticipated events in sports history, known as the "Rumble in the Jungle" with the fight taking place in Zaire, Africa.
Former Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay placed the winning bid.
Sale Price: $5,850,000 | Date: February 2023
The photo of Kobe Bryant tugging on his jersey while letting out a yell after hitting a clutch three-pointer in Game 2 of the 2008 Western Conference First Round against the Nuggets has become one of the enduring images of the Lakers superstar, and has in fact been immortalized in numerous murals across Los Angeles and the entire world.
This is the jersey he was wearing when he hit that shot, and it was worn in 25 total games, giving it an unusual level of action relative to most modern jerseys that are worn once.
Sale Price: $5,640,000 | Date: June 2019
In a live auction held at Yankee Stadium by Hunt Auctions, this Babe Ruth jersey set a new record at the time for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.
The previous record had also belonged to a Ruth jersey from the 1920 season, which sold for $4.4 million.
Comparing those figures to the sports card market, which has exploded into big business in recent years, three sports cards have topped the $10 million mark and eight sit above the $5 million threshold.
The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant Dual Logoman Auto that sold for $12,932,000 in August 2025 headlines that list, followed by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle SGC 9.5 that had been the record holder at $12,600,000 from an August 2022 sale.
For more on the absolute peak of the sports card market, check out: The 10 Most Expensive Sports Cards of All Time
.jpg?w=2560 "Eagles Rookie Camp Football")
.jpg?w=2560 "Mock NBA Expansion Draft ๐ค")
.jpg?w=2560 "AEW Dynamite Grades & Recap ๐")
.jpg?w=2560 "Best Fits for Top NFL FAs ๐งฉ")