Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant Sports Card Achieves Record Sales Figure
A sports collectible card signed by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant reached an astonishing $12.932 million at an auction on Saturday night, setting a new record in the sports card market. The card, belonging to the Upper Deck Exquisite collection from the 2007-08 season, features the signatures of Jordan and Bryant in a unique edition (1 of 1). This copy surpassed the value of the 1952 Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $12.6 million at the end of August 2022. The sale of the Jordan/Bryant card was managed by Heritage Auctions. Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary, collector Matt Allen (known as Shyne150 on social media), and businessman Paul Warshaw joined forces to acquire it. This card is positioned as the second most expensive sports collectible item in history, surpassed only by Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series jersey, known as the “called shot”, which sold for $24.12 million almost a year ago. Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage, recalled the launch of Exquisite by Upper Deck, where a five-card pack cost $500 in the 2003-04 edition. This set was responsible for the LeBron James rookie card that reached $5.2 million, the previous record for the category until Saturday’s sale.They were a bit criticized, but they connected with an audience that wasn’t interested in tricks: they just wanted the best of the best. They added patches and signatures, Logomen; it was one of the first times logos were used on the jersey in this way.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage
This rarity justifies the price, even though the card received a grade of 6 from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA).But Exquisite was first, Exquisite opened the way. It’s the pinnacle when it comes to modern card collectors, and this is the only time there have been autographed Logomans from Jordan and Kobe. Another one cannot be created. It has always been considered by modern basketball collectors as a holy grail.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage
Ivy also noted that, in the wake of the fraudulent memorabilia scandal involving Brett Lemieux, the authenticity of the Bryant and Jordan card is “solid.” Lemieux allegedly flooded the market with fraudulent Kobe items following his death in 2020.A 1986 Fleer Jordan with a grade of 6 sells for a couple of thousand, while a [grade] 10 currently sells for almost $200,000. Grades matter when it comes to the prices of standard cards, but this is a 1 of 1, so the grade is less important overall for the card’s performance.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage
It has been a standout month for Bryant cards. Collector Matt Allen, known as Shyne on social media, revealed that he invested $4 million in signed Logoman cards of Bryant 1 of 1 from Panini Flawless: one from 2017-18 for $1.7 million and another from 2015-16 for $2.3 million, which was the record paid for a Bryant card until Saturday night’s sale. Saturday would have been Bryant’s 47th birthday.The scandal makes articles like this a bit more desirable: Upper Deck has Jordan under contract; he’s been with them for decades. Kobe was with Upper Deck until 2009. They worked with these athletes directly to get this article signed. It’s guaranteed by them and by PSA. That’s why you see a premium for articles that have verified provenance and authentication.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage
