Rare Michael Jordan rookie card sells for record $2.5M

A signed 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card sold for a record $2.5 million at auction on Thursday.

And the kicker? There was only one bidder.

It is the highest price ever paid for a Jordan rookie card, according to the sports collectibles media platform Cllct. The winning -- and only -- bid of $2 million was placed at the auction house Joopiter, which charges a 25 percent buyer's premium to bring the total price to $2.5 million.

"It's a shocking amount of money," Cllct reporter and editor Will Stern told Front Office Sports. "I don't think there's anybody who I spoke to within the industry that expected this."

FOS cited another memorabilia appraiser that said the "fair market value" of the card is about $1 million. The PSA certified card is rated as a 9 out of 10 for overall condition, while Jordan's autograph is rated a 10.

While the record price from a sole bidder, whose name remains unknown, has raised questions within the trading card industry, Joopiter told FOS that the sale had "strong activity from potential buyers in 50 countries."

The card is also part of 10 Fleer cards that Jordan secretly signed for a collector in Florida last year. Cllct reported that Jordan typically doesn't sign Fleer cards because he has a deal with Upper Deck, but that the collector paid for Jordan to fly to Florida so the signing could be witnessed by PSA.

Sources told Cllct that at least six of the 10 cards were PSA 10s worth $180,000 apiece before the signings, while the PSA 9s had a value of around $16,000 before the autographs. The 10s have not come up for public sale yet.

Joopiter was founded in 2022 by singer and music producer Pharrell Williams.

The most money paid to date for a Jordan card was $2.928 million for a 1-of-1 2003-04 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection autographed Logoman card in June 2024.

--Field Level Media