If Michael Jordan’s name is attached, the money trail will certainly follow!
Yahoo Sports reports an unused ticket for the NBA goat has sold for a whopping $468,000 by the owner of the hidden gem, Mike Cole, in a recent auction.
The Maryland native was given two tickets by a family friend to attend Michael Jordan’s debut game against the Washington Bullets in 1984. Unable to give away the additional ticket, Cole stored the unused ticket stub alongside other sports memorabilia in his basement for nearly three decades.
It was not until Cole stumbled across a story about a record-breaking sale for Michael Jordan’s first NBA game that he realized he was sitting on a pot of gold. Cole then went to his basement to find the unused ticket in a container titled “Mike’s memories.” And, what’s more, Cole told Yahoo Sports he would have been happy to receive $500 for the ticket.
“I’m a huge sports fan, and I enjoy keeping tickets as memories of good times I’ve had,” Cole said, according to Yahoo Sports. “Before that night, if you’d have given me $500 for that ticket, I’d probably taken it. I wasn’t waiting for the right time to sell or to figure out if I had the only one. I just didn’t know this market for tickets existed.”
The Highest Auctioned Ticket For Jordan’s NBA Debut
Cole emailed various auction houses his story and image of the ticket over a course of a week. Heritage Auctions placed the ticket for sale four weeks ago, and Cole remained on standby closely watching the numbers rise in $10,000 increments.
The market projected the ticket to sell for $1 million but it sold for $468,000, including a 20 percent buyer’s premium. This marks the highest auctioned ticket for Michael Jordan’s NBA debut, breaking the recent record in December, which totaled $264,000.
Cole plans to use his new earnings to pay off his mortgage and support his children through college. In addition to handling responsibilities, Cole will also make time for leisure by traveling overseas.
