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A 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Autographed Rookie Card just set a new record at auction for a trading card with an aftermarket signature. The card set the record during a private sale, Goldin auction house announced on Tuesday.
At $2.7 million, it also set a record for the most expensive Michael Jordan rookie card ever. It broke the previous record of $2.5 million set when a different 1986 Fleer Jordan autographed rookie card was purchased earlier this year through Pharrell Williams’ auction house Joopiter.
Both of the 1986 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan cards were graded Mint 9 with a Gem-Mint 10 autograph grade by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator).
“Signed rookie cards of greatest-of-all-time athletes, like Michael Jordan, represent the pinnacle of sports collectibles,” Ken Goldin, Founder and CEO of Goldin said in an email. “This record-breaking sale is a testament not only to Jordan’s enduring legacy but also to the recognition of aftermarket-signed cards, which are truly elite pieces of memorabilia–especially when in high grade.”
Goldin Auctions
Why is this Michael Jordan rookie card so valuable?
As Goldin explained in the email, “An ‘aftermarket signature’ delineation is given when an autograph is added to a card after its original release, rather than a card that is pre-signed by the player for inclusion in trading card packs by the manufacturer. Elevating the uniqueness of this piece is the surrounding time-period context: Prior to the 2000s, it was uncommon and taboo for collectors to ask athletes to sign high-value trading cards, leading to their exceptional rarity in today’s market.”
The scarcity of Michael Jordan’s autograph also contributed to both the sale of this card as well as the one sold earlier this year, according to Goldin. “As it is regarded as one of the most difficult signatures to obtain…” the company wrote, “high-grade, authenticated examples of signed Jordan rookies have become ‘holy grails’ among collectors.”
Previous high-priced trading card sales in 2025
In August, a one-of-a-kind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant Upper Deck card set a new record for the most expensive sports card ever. A 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant card sold for $12.932 million, beating out a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that sold for $12.6 million in August 2022.
A Shohei Ohtani card also set a record in 2025. Back in March, a one-of-a-kind 2024 Topps Dynasty Black Shohei Ohtani “50/50” Relic card became the first Los Angeles Dodgers trading card to sell for more than one million dollars.
That same month, a one-of-a-kind 2024 Paul Skenes MLB Debut Patch autographed Topps Chrome Update card sold for more than a million dollars after being pulled by an 11-year-old kid from California. That card was sold after the kid received multiple enticing offers, including one from the Pittsburgh Pirates that included potentially sharing a suite with Paul Skenes’ girlfriend Livvy Dunne.