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Dan HajduckyOct 21, 2025, 02:37 PM ET
- Dan Hajducky is a staff writer for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities.
An «aftermarket» signed 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card has sold in a private sale via Goldin Auctions for $2.7 million. According to the auction house, it’s a record paid for a card with an «aftermarket» signature.
«Aftermarket» signed cards are autographed outside the chain of card production; physically autographed cards are either hard signed directly onto the surface, signed onto a hologram sticker which is later placed onto the card’s surface, or embedded as cut signatures — autographs cut from documents such as checks.
Because of Jordan’s longtime exclusive deal with Upper Deck, signed Jordan rookie cards were hard to find for decades outside the 23 copies Jordan signed for a 2006 20th anniversary buyback Upper Deck promotion. But Jordan has recently started to do private signings, including on the Fleer rookie card, which are still considered rare.
Goldin Auctions founder and CEO Ken Goldin confirmed through a representative that the card — graded a PSA Mint 9 with a 10 autograph grade — was one of the nine signed by Jordan «in private with witnesses» at a 2024 signing.
Another card from that signing (one of three PSA 9s; the remaining six received 10 grades from PSA and, as of June, haven’t surfaced publicly) sold via Joopiter, Pharell Williams’ auction house, for $2.5 million in late June. Goldin also confirmed to ESPN that this $2.7 million Jordan is not a reselling of the $2.5 million Joopiter card.
«Signed rookie cards of greatest-of-all-time athletes, like Michael Jordan, represent the pinnacle of sports collectibles,» Goldin said in a statement. «This record-breaking sale is a testament not only to Jordan’s enduring legacy but also to the recognition of aftermarket-signed cards […].»
