Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary and some of his super-rich business partners are the proud new owners of the most expensive sports card in the world.
"Mr. Wonderful" revealed the news Monday, August 25 during an appearance on CNBC that he, Matt Allen and Paul Warshaw pooled their cash to spend an incredible $12.932 million on the card.
The card is 1-of-1, featuring both a jersey patch and signature from Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. The card was part of Upper Deck's elite Exquisite Collection in 2007-08.
The jersey patches feature a red, white and blue NBA logo for Bryant and a gold and white NBA logo for Jordan. The gold and white logo marked Jordan's 1996-97 season, which was also the 50th anniversary of the NBA.
As for how O'Leary and pals got their hands on the card—they recently won it at a Heritage Auction's sale. The $12.932 million price included the buyer's premium, making the card the most expensive sports card ever sold.
The previous record for most expensive sports card was $12.6 million for the 2022 sale of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card.
The Bryant and Jordan card is also now considered the second most expensive piece of sports memorabilia in the world—behind Babe Ruth's "The Shot" jersey which sold for around $24 million in 2024.
As for how O'Leary got involved in the sports card world, he said he was hesitant at first, telling CNBC Warshaw helped to get him hooked, "I was a business partner with him, and I just started, and I thought it was nuts." He continued, "I said, 'Why would anybody pay a million bucks for a piece of cardboard?' He said, 'You don't get it.' And I slowly kept looking at the numbers."
O'Leary and pals tend to hold onto the card for a while so it can build even more value.
