A truly one-of-a-kind sports collectible has just broken all kinds of records. The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs card of these two legends sold for a jaw-dropping $12.932 million! Matted next to the basketball legends’ signatures is a full-color 8×10 photo of Bryant dunking on Jordan, making this card truly one-of-a-kind, #1/1. The auction was through Heritage Auctions, but the buyer’s identity has not yet been revealed.
This historic sale represents an unprecedented milestone in sports memorabilia. That’s already broken the record of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $12.6 million in late August 2022. The Jordan/Bryant card is now the second-most expensive sports collectible of all time. It’s second only to Babe Ruth’s legendary 1932 World Series “called shot” jersey, which fetched a mind-boggling $24.12 million.
Here, Chris Ivy, Heritage’s director of sports auctions, explained just how important the card is and what its historical context makes it such an important artifact. He thought back to the heady days of the launch of Upper Deck’s Exquisite line in 2003-04. Collectors were lining up to purchase a five-card pack for $500. Ivy highlighted how Exquisite opened the floodgates for luxury sports cards, stating,
“But Exquisite was first, Exquisite paved the way.” – Chris Ivy
The Jordan and Bryant card have become modern basketball collectors’ Holy Grail. Ivy went on to describe it as “the apex for contemporary card collectors.” She insisted on its specialness being the only one-of-a-kind Logoman ever signed by both players. He added,
“It’s always been looked at by modern basketball collectors as a holy grail.” – Chris Ivy
The most impressive thing about the card isn’t its glamorous roster of high-profile signatories – it’s the design of the card itself. It combines jersey logos with patches and signatures, a combination that has proven to be more and more popular with collectors. The card is graded 6 by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). Ivy admitted that although grades usually influence pricing for regular cards accordingly, they play a much smaller role for such a unique piece.
“Grades matter as far as pricing goes for standard-issue cards, but this is a 1-of-1, so the grade is less important overall to how the card performed.” – Chris Ivy
Today’s featured card had a long, loving life before it was posted here. They even rejected a series of high seven-figure private offers before ultimately agreeing to auction it. Heritage Auctions had predicted that the card would break the $5 million mark in an open auction. As it turned out, their estimate was very conservative, as the eventual sale price far exceeded their projections.
As Ivy noted, the Exquisite Collection received a lot of skepticism in the beginning. Over time, it had won the confidence of important collectors looking for the best quality. He stated,
“[They were] kind of mocked, but it tapped into a demographic that wasn’t interested in gimmicks: They just wanted the best of the best.” – Chris Ivy
The dust has finally begun to settle from this historic sale. It shows the origins of sports memorabilia, emphasizes how far it’s evolved, and illustrates its growing significance in the world and popular culture. The Jordan and Bryant Logoman card both serves as testament to the generations of players who have been influenced by these two basketball icons. Further, it highlights how profoundly they impact their fans and collectors.
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