10 Most Expensive Sports Jersey Sales of All Time
In September, a game-worn Michael Jordan jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA finals sold for $12,260,000, claiming the No. 2 spot on the list of the most expensive sports jersey sales in history.
Sports memorabilia has become an investment tool, similar to fine art in recent years. It has seemingly become a monthly occurrence that a new piece of sports history hits the auction block and sells for millions.
Zooming in specifically on the jersey market, we've highlighted the 10 most expensive jersey sales of all time. As the latest Jordan sale shows, this is an extremely fluid leaderboard that could be reshaped again in the near future.
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10 MOST EXPENSIVE SPORTS JERSEYS OF ALL TIME
Sale Price: $24,120,000 | Date: August 2024
At this point, whether or not Babe Ruth actually called his shot before homering in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series is irrelevant. It's become one of the most iconic tales in baseball history. This is the jersey he wore 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 after his retirement. It sold for $940,000 in 2005, before it was specifically verified to be from Game 3. That provenance has helped make it the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.
Sale Price: $12,260,000 | Date: September 2026
Sold by JOOPITER, the auction house founded by Pharrell Williams, this jersey surpassed the record mark set by the Game 1 jersey from the same series for the most expensive non-sports-card piece of Michael Jordan memorabilia. While Game 1 was a Bulls loss, Game 3 was the most lopsided victory in NBA Finals history, with Chicago winning 96-54 behind a game-high 24 points from Jordan.
Sale Price: $10,091,000 | Date: September 2022
This jersey blew past expectations, as Sotheby's had a projected $3-5 million sale price. It ultimately more than doubled the high end of that figure, making it the most valuable jersey of all time prior to the Ruth sale. The Bulls actually lost Game 1 in overtime against the Utah Jazz, with Jordan scoring a game-high 33 points.
Sale Price: $9,280,000 | Date: May 2022
Diego Maradona's handball goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals against England stands as one of the defining moments in soccer history, largely because of the quote he later gave.
"A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God."
The "Hand of God" ball from that same play also recently sold, fetching $3,355,000 in August 2026.
Sale Price: $7,004,000 | Date: April 2025
Photo matching technology has linked this jersey to 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. It previously sold for a more modest $115,242 at auction in 2012, representing an increase of nearly 6000% in a little over a decade.
Sale Price: $5,850,000 | Date: February 2023
One of the lasting images of Kobe Bryant's career was him letting out a yell after knocking down a clutch three-pointer in Game 2 of the 2008 Western Conference First Round against the Nuggets. This is the jersey he wore when he hit that shot. It has been linked to 25 total games, giving it a unique level of game action relative to most modern jerseys.
Sale Price: $5,640,000 | Date: June 2019
Hunt Auctions sold this Ruth jersey in a live auction at Yankee Stadium in 2019. It was the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at the time. The previous record belonged to a 1920 Ruth jersey, which sold for $4,415,658 in 2012.
Sale Price: $5,246,000 | Date: August 2025
This jersey is not only signed and game-worn, but also photomatched by MeiGray and SIA to multiple games during the 1960 season, including the 1960 All-Star Game, where Mantle was the starting center fielder for the American League. The Yankees star led the AL with 40 home runs during the 1960 campaign, hitting .275/.399/.558 for a 162 OPS+ and finishing runner-up to teammate Roger Maris in AL MVP balloting.
Sale Price: $4,900,000 | Date: September 2023
This jersey was worn in Game 5 of the 1972 NBA Finals, when the Lakers clinched the franchise's first championship since moving to Los Angeles. A 35-year-old Chamberlain averaged 19.4 points and 23.2 rebounds in the series, including an impressive 24-point, 29-rebound performance while playing with a broken hand in Game 5.
Sale Price: $4,880,000 | Date: July 2026
Pelรฉ announced himself to the world at the 1958 World Cup, still shy of his 18th birthday. He scored six goals in four matches, including two in the final against Sweden. He still stands as the youngest player ever to appear in and score in a World Cup Final. This was the shirt he was wearing when he carved out that place in history.
While it didn't fit on this leaderboard since it was not a single jersey sale, it's worth mentioning that the set of six Lionel Messi jerseys from the 2022 World Cup sold for $7,800,000 in December 2023, which is another hugely significant sale on the sports jersey timeline.
Likewise, a 1951 game-worn jersey and 1950 game-worn pants combination from Brooklyn Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson sold for $5,520,000 in August 2024. It was excluded from our leaderboard since the two-piece uniform did not cleanly fit the criteria.
It's only a matter of time before the next piece of sports history hits the auction block and the final sale price makes national headlines, but for now, the list stands as the largest confirmed sales in history for a sports jersey.
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