Sports Memorabilia Hits Eight Figures as Auction Houses Apply Fine Art Playbook
Sports memorabilia has become a notable alternative investment, with some items fetching over $10 million at auction. Prices exceeding $1 million are driven by factors such as the athlete's cultural impact, a connection to a specific event, and the item's condition. For eight-figure sales of game-worn items, photo-matching is essential. Prominent auction houses in this market include Sotheby's, Heritage Auctions, and PWCC Marketplace. The record sale is Babe Ruth's Yankees jersey from 1932, which went for $24.12 million in August 2024. Other remarkable transactions include a 1952 Mickey Mantle card that sold for $12.6 million in August 2022, Michael Jordan's 1998 Finals jersey at $10.1 million in September 2022, and Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup shirt for £7,142,500 in May 2022.
Key facts
- Babe Ruth's 1932 "Called Shot" jersey sold for $24.12 million at Heritage Auctions in August 2024, the top public auction price for sports memorabilia
- A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card graded SGC 9.5 sold for $12.6 million through Heritage Auctions in August 2022
- Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 jersey brought $10.1 million at Sotheby's in September 2022
- Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup "Hand of God" shirt sold for £7,142,500 at Sotheby's in May 2022
- A T206 Honus Wagner card sold privately for $7.25 million, with surviving copies estimated between 50 and 200
- Babe Ruth's 1920 Yankees road jersey brought $5.64 million at Hunt Auctions in June 2019
- Jesse Owens' 1936 Olympic gold medal sold for $1.47 million at SCP Auctions in December 2013
- Photo-matching against archival photographs and broadcast footage underpins nearly every eight-figure game-worn sale
Entities
Artists
- Babe Ruth
- Mickey Mantle
- Michael Jordan
- Diego Maradona
- Honus Wagner
- LeBron James
- Wayne Gretzky
- Kobe Bryant
- Tom Brady
- Jesse Owens
- Charlie Root
- Ali Bin Nasser
- Steve Hodge
- Anthony Giordano
- Sy Berger
- Bruce McNall
- Carmelo Anthony
- Dwyane Wade
- Chris Bosh
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Vlade Divac
- Drew Bledsoe
- Bill Robinson
- Gianna Bryant
- Adolf Hitler
Institutions
- Heritage Auctions
- Sotheby's
- Hunt Auctions
- Goldin Auctions
- Lelands
- SCP Auctions
- PWCC Marketplace
- PSA
- SGC
- Topps
- Upper Deck
- O-Pee-Chee
- American Tobacco Company
- Robert Edward Auctions
- New York Yankees
- Chicago Cubs
- Chicago Bulls
- Utah Jazz
- Boston Red Sox
- Argentina national football team
- England national football team
- FIFA
- National Football Museum
- 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Jefferson R. Burdick collection
- Nike
- New England Patriots
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Edmonton Oilers
- Los Angeles Kings
- St. Louis Blues
- New York Rangers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Charlotte Hornets
- St. Vincent-St. Mary High School
- Lower Merion High School
- Playoff Contenders
- Quartz
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Chicago
- Wrigley Field
- Salt Lake City
- Mexico City
- Azteca Stadium
- Berlin
- Germany
- Doha
- Qatar
- Exton
- Pennsylvania
- Akron
- Ohio
- Oregon
- London
- Ontario
- Canada
- Los Angeles
- California
- Arizona
- Texas
- Florida
- Philadelphia
- Calabasas
- New Jersey
- Atlantic Ocean
- Manchester
- England
Sources
- Quartz —