Rare Michael Jordan Rookie Card Auction
A rare Michael Jordan rookie card, widely seen as one of the most unique and potentially valuable in the sports card realm, is set to hit the auction block in mid-June through an online house established by musician Pharrell Williams. This particular card—an autographed 1986-87 Fleer rookie—marks Joopiter’s inaugural foray into the realm of sports collectibles, with the auction scheduled to begin on June 17, running until June 26.
Card Details and Valuation
This card holds a remarkable distinction: it is graded as a mint 9 by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and features a gem mint 10 autograph. No publicly available Jordan autographed Fleer rookie card has achieved such high combined grades before. It stands as one of only nine Fleer rookie cards that Jordan signed during a private signing session that took nearly five years to organize.
“These signings resulted in an elite group of cards, six of which are graded as PSA 10 for both the card and the autograph”
In this event, Jordan autographed the cards without compensation, even including personal notes about his career achievements on some. Last summer at The National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, these six top-tier cards were showcased but never went up for sale.
The auction house estimates the card could fetch between $2 million and $3 million, potentially making it the highest-selling Jordan card to date. Given the card’s qualifications, it is competing with some of the priciest cards in the market; for reference, a one-of-a-kind game-used Logoman patch autograph card of Jordan sold for nearly $2.93 million in June 2024, while a less prominent Jordan card from the same year sold for $205,000.
Joopiter’s Impact in the Auction Space
Despite Joopiter’s lack of previous sales in sports cards, global head Caitlin Donovan believes the auction house can attract a wider audience due to the iconic status of Jordan in culture and sports. She emphasized that their goal with this auction is to reach beyond traditional sports collectors and engage a broader audience fascinated by Jordan’s legacy.
Interestingly, this particular Jordan card was originally slated for auction by Sotheby’s in March but ended up at Joopiter instead, with the reasons for the shift undisclosed. The consignor of the card remains anonymous and abstained from discussing the change. Donovan expressed her enthusiasm about representing such a notable card and the opportunity to elevate its visibility within the auction space.
Potential Market Impact
As collectors continue to seek out Jordan memorabilia, this auction could set new benchmarks for the sports card market, as both Jordan’s iconic status and the unique nature of this particular item combine for a potentially record-breaking sale in the coming weeks.
