Sports History Comes at a Price

Somebody buy me something from Sotheby's this month please

Author

Will Stern
March 27, 2024

Though it’s no longer up to interpretation at this point, any traditionalists holding on to the outdated conception of a fine line between respected art and misfit sports artifacts are now forced to forever release their grip on the arbitrary distinction.

Sotheby’s is kicking off its ‘Sports Week’ today, a far cry from their first major sports-oriented auction, though still an impossible-to-ignore exhibition of sports memorabilia to rival any auction in history.

As I’ve spoken about previously (and will write about in more depth in my first feature for cllct.com), Sotheby’s and other establishment houses are witnessing a massive demographic shift. Their strategy to address the newly-monied youths is not exactly opaque: luxury goods, modern collectibles, and ‘90s/early 2000s sports.

Rather than continue down that rabbit hole this morning, I want to do some window shopping.

Join me, won’t you?

Estimate: $1.5M-$2.5M

Without question, this jersey marks the pinnacle of Kobe’s Finals career. The debut game of a series that would bestow upon him his first NBA Finals MVP as well as the highest-scoring Finals game of his career, the game’s lasting legacy would be its contribution to his first Shaq-less championship.

Accompanied by an MeiGray photo-match and NBA Entertainment LOA, a cursory look failed to yield any prior public sales — leading me to believe this is either a fresh-to-market piece or a result of a savvy buyer picking up the jersey sans documentation and striking gold with MeiGray.

The current record for a Kobe jersey is $5.8M worn during his 2007-08 MVP season in an astonishing 25 games (Sotheby’s, February 2023).

Ask me why this shouldn’t top that mark from last year? Outside of the outlandish game-use (25 games is insane), this is the moment that Kobe collectors will be chasing and comes in a boom market for game-worn.

Estimate: $25K-$35K

A 4’ x 8’ floor panel from the United Center, where it laid beneath the feet of Jordan’s home court Bulls from 1995-1998, witnessing two of the three championships during the second three-peat.

This isn’t the first time a piece of that hardwood will find a new home, as Upper Deck previously purchased a large 26” x 4 ½” chunk in the ‘90s to insert into limited edition autographed collectibles. 

Currently selling for $25K on UD’s site, it’s nothing new for UD, as they also purchased sections from the Utah Jazz floor which played host to Jordan’s final game (at least, they thought it was) and embedded them in trading cards.

If I were a betting man (which I am), I’d wager UD swoops in for another shot at selling insanely-priced merch. Or, I simply have a very limited understanding of the wealthy’s use cases for game-used hardwood in their home.

Estimate: $250K-$300K

Boasting multiple conclusive photo-matches (1962 NBA Game 7 & 1963 East Divisional Round Game 5), this relic from the Celtics dynasty and the career of one of the great players of his era is arguably the most significant Cousy jersey to ever come to auction.

Given the added cache of 1962’s Game 7 being 1 of just 2 in NBA history to end in over time, as well as the remarkable fact that a pre-Lyndon B. Johnson era jersey has been photo-matched, this piece does well to represent the depth and holistic curation of the catalog, as well as the authentic appreciation for the game’s history community of collectors.

In December 2022, an early 1960s Cousy Jersey sold for $65K, lacking a photo-match. This example at Sotheby’s is freshly documented by MeiGray as of this month, matching to a total of four Getty Images (one of which has not been assigned a date).

Considering the extreme rarity of a Cousy jersey appearing at auction in any circumstance, let alone accompanied by such detailed documentation, I wouldn’t be shocked to see this clear $400K.

Estimate: $4M-$6M

Despite the obvious wow-factor of these Ali-worn trunks, coming from one of boxing’s most memorable nights, I’m not exactly bullish on the estimate, considering that this will be the 5th time selling publicly — frequent sales of singular items harm values generally speaking.

Recovered from a California storage facility in 1988, the trunks were sold for just $650.

Then, in 2002, they sold for $58,000 at Sotheby’s In 2012, at REA, they sold for $118,500

That same year, they were photo-matched and sold at Heritage in August 2012 for $155,350.

It’s important to note the photo-match premium has already been sucked up in 2012. And while the market for game-worn has risen considerably, we’re still talking an order of magnitude return for a piece of memorabilia tied to a dying sport, despite Ali’s transcendence.

Estimate: $150K-$250K

No explanation necessary…

While the jersey donned by LeBron on the historic record-breaking evening is no doubt in his personal collection, Sotheby’s got crafty with this one, nabbing the rim from the all-time scoring record.

I cannot stress this enough: Multiple rich dudes will be going toe-to-toe over this rim in order to complete their indoor basketball courts.

Estimate: $40K-$60K

I’m biased due to my complete disgust at the disrespect directed towards tennis in the collectibles world. However, given the recent $118,206.00 sale of Nadal’s 2007 French Open Final Match Used Championship Point Winning Racket (preceded by a Nadal non-Championship Point Winning Australian Open Racket for $140K), this estimate seems criminal.

I’ve only recently come to grips with Djokovic as the GOAT and considering the context of the match (photo-matched vs. Federer for his 2nd U.S. Open Title), this should be a $200K piece in my mind.

Am I right? Wrong? Dumb? Handome? LMK!