Unique Michael Jordan signed card box from rookie year sells for $1.48 million

A sealed box of 1986-87 Fleer Basketball cards, signed and inscribed by Michael Jordan, sold for $1.48 million in an eBay auction Sunday night. It’s the only unopened box of ’86 Fleer Basketball — the set includes his iconic rookie card, as well as those of multiple NBA legends like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and more — that Jordan has autographed, which he noted with an inscription reading “Rookie Card Box 1/1.”

Trading card and memorabilia company Upper Deck first announced the auction in July along with news that it had extended its long-term exclusive partnership with Jordan. The company also had Jordan autograph 23 sealed individual packs of 1986 Fleer Basketball cards that collectors can claim through a redemption program and will be part of its 2026 Goodwin Champions release. Ten percent of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The 1986 Fleer Basketball set was largely disregarded upon its debut, as the NBA and basketball card collecting were far less popular than they are today. Jordan, however, became a global superstar in the 1990s and fans began to collect anything and everything associated with him; his rookie card and the set it came in rose significantly in value. Today, a sealed box of ’86 Fleer not signed by Jordan is worth north of $100,000. Each box contains 36 packs and about three to four Jordan #57 cards on average.

What’s interesting about the final price of the signed box is that it’s considerably lower than the record $2.7 million that a single Fleer rookie card signed by Jordan sold for last fall, even though the box is a one-of-one while there are more than 100 authenticated ’86 Fleer Jordan autographed cards. It illustrates how scarcity isn’t always the ultimate factor in the collectibles market and how individual cards are often more desirable to collectors. For example, cards bearing a small piece of a player’s game-used jersey often sell for far more than a full game-used jersey of the same player.

Jordan collectibles, including his ’86 Fleer card, are arguably more popular than ever right now. According to GemRate, which tracks trading card sales and grading data, more than $68 million was spent on individual Jordan cards on eBay alone through the first half of 2026, second only to Shohei Ohtani ($85.6 million), rising from just over $8 million in January to almost $17 million in June.

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