Michael Jordan collectibles have consistently commanded the big bucks at auction. The most expensive sports trading card of all time features him alongside Kobe Bryant on the 2007–08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs card.
This sold for $12.9 million at Heritage Auctions in August 2025, bought by an investor group that includes Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, collector Matt Allen, and entrepreneur Paul Warshaw.
While the dual auto certainly holds a ton of merit on the financial end, it simply isn’t as iconic as the 1986-87 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan Rookie Card.
Michael Jordan’s Fleer #57 Card Sells On Goldin
This card is synonymous with basketball card collecting, and the image of MJ soaring through the air for a one-handed jam over a couple of befuddled Nets defenders has been seared into fans’ minds.
Given the card’s iconicity, many believed that when it hit auction on Goldin, fans would be thronging to the opportunity to snag it. And while it did sell for quite a bit, it didn’t live up to the heights of other Fleer #57 cards. There is, however, a reason for this.
The card, certified a Gem Mint PSA 10, that most recently sold at Goldin realized $396,500. This is after the 22% buyer’s premium.
Other versions of this same card in the same condition have sold for $720,000 and $ 600,000. Granted, this was in 2021, so perhaps the market has cooled off on the Fleer #57.
However, the sports trading card industry has also ballooned to over $14 billion this year. So the demand for the card should be higher.
The most expensive Fleer #57 ever sold at auction was in October 2025, fetching a whopping $2.7 million. The kicker here is that, while it was a PSA 9, so not in pristine condition, it was autographed by ‘His Airness’ himself.
That signature alone is worth the additional $2 million, and understandably so.
The Fleer #57 Isn’t Michael Jordan’s Actual Rookie Card
It was released two years after MJ was drafted third overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. The reason it is called a rookie card is that Jordan had only cards that were regionally released for his rookie and sophomore years in the league.
Cards that predate the Fleer #57 and were more local to the areas where they were sold include the 1984 Star #101, #195, and #288.
These have all gone for quite the pretty penny at auction. The ’84 Star #101 sold for $925,000 in a private sale in 2024, while the next two sold for between $15,000 and $35,000.
Jordan commands a great deal of respect in the collectibles space and rightfully so. Alt XYZ auction house claims that MJ collectibles have risen over 28% in the past 90 days, so if there were ever a time to invest in the ‘GOAT’, it would be now.
