Details, Items and More – WWD

Sotheby’s is gearing up to host its largest sale of sports memorabilia to date, offering coveted items from the world’s top athletes.

The auction house is holding a two-part curated sale of “Sports Memorabilia: Part II” from June 20-28, with a public exhibition scheduled for June 24-28. The collection offers around 50 items from athletes such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Muhammad Ali, Derek Jeter, Rafael Nadal and others. The entire collection is estimated to fetch between $960,000 and $1.6 million.

The first part of Sotheby’s sports memorabilia sale kicked off last month, with Jordan’s 1992 Summer Olympics Reebok jacket running until June 28 and expected to fetch between $1 million and $3 million.

“Items from Michael Jordan’s 1992 ‘Dream Team’ Olympic run are very coveted,” said Bram Wachter, Sotheby’s director of streetwear and contemporary collectibles. “We saw a highly competitive auction house recently sell a Michael Jordan semifinal jersey for $3 million, so we’re really excited to have two of those at Sotheby’s.”

In addition to Jordan’s Reebok jacket, the upcoming Sotheby’s auction will also offer the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” Air Jordan VII sneaker worn and signed by Jordan, which is estimated to sell for $100,000 to $300,000.

Other notable items include Nike sneakers worn by James during his rookie year with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2004, estimated to sell for $150,000 to $200,000, and Everlast sweatpants Ali wore in battle in 1972, estimated to sell for $150,000 to $200,000. Prices range from $70,000 to $90,000.

Ali’s sweatpants, worn by the boxer when he fought George Chuvalo for the 1972 NABF Heavyweight Championship, were the first combat items from Ali to be auctioned at Sotheby’s.

Wachter explained that one of the biggest trends he’s seeing among Sotheby’s sports memorabilia clients is a growing interest in items from key sporting moments, such as Jordan’s 1992 Summer Olympics.

“We noticed that even if your athlete is wearing an average jersey, it’s worth $5,000, but if that particular athlete does something really memorable in their career, you’ll see The value of these things has skyrocketed,” he said.

Wachter also noted that sports memorabilia has been a growth market for Sotheby’s in recent years.

“It’s a marketplace of people who are super passionate about what they collect,” he said. “Our customers are incredible sports fanatics. In many ways, this market has been around for a long time, we noticed and said this is a market we want to be a part of, and we think it is growing exponentially. Values It’s growing, and the number of people involved is growing.”