A red Chicago Bulls road jersey that Michael Jordan wore in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $14 million, Hunt Auctions said Monday. The auction house called it the highest price ever paid for a piece of basketball memorabilia.

The Pennsylvania-based auction house arranged the deal as a private sale and named the buyer as Ron Firman, a Miami real estate investor. "Michael Jordan was an incredibly talented player who is admired around the world," Firman said in a statement. "I'm very excited about the purchase."

Jordan wore the jersey on June 5, 1998, in Salt Lake City. He scored 37 points as Chicago beat the Utah Jazz 93-88 to even the series, ABC News Australia reported. The Bulls won in six games for Jordan's sixth and final title, and he took home his sixth Finals MVP award.

That 1997-98 season was the subject of the 10-part "Last Dance" documentary series released in 2020. Items from that season have soared in value since. A jersey from Game 1 sold at auction for about $10.1 million in 2022, and one from Game 3 sold at auction last month, the AP reported.

The new price is the most ever paid for an NBA jersey. It trails only the $24.12 million paid in 2024 for the jersey Babe Ruth wore in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, when he hit his "called shot" home run against the Chicago Cubs.

David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, said "Michael Jordan's importance within the sports memorabilia marketplace has long been established." He said Jordan items have become "an elite asset class more typically reserved for iconic works of art."

The jersey changed hands only once before. A private collector bought it from the Bulls in 2003, Hunt said. In 2023, a pair of Air Jordan sneakers he wore in that same Game 2 sold for $2.2 million.

What we know: Jordan's Game 2 jersey from the 1998 Finals sold for $14 million to Miami investor Ron Firman.
What we don't: Whether Firman plans to display the jersey or keep it private.