Michael Jordan Autographed Jersey for $8,000?

Yes, you read that right.  A Michael Jordan autographed Chicago Bulls jersey is now $8,000.

But how?

Why did the price suddenly go up from $3,500 to $8,000?

Today I discuss 3 possible reasons why Upper Deck (UDA), did this to his pricing.

#1 Price of Autograph Increased

Occasionally, an athlete will increase their autograph price.  This is either due to a new career achievement, an escalator clause in their autograph agreement, or the athlete just doesn't want to sign as much.

I tend to think this is not the reason for this jump in Jordan's autograph pricing.

His pricing has been very consistent for a few years.

Obviously, he isn't playing anymore, so no new career achievement. 

Pretty sure we can rule this one out.

#2 Not Signing as Much Anymore

Jordan is getting up there in age (56 as of this post).  It's not like he's 80 years old and just doesn't want to sign.  But as athletes and people age, their interests change.  

Sometimes that one thing you enjoyed doing, or could manage well, is no longer possible or your interest has changed.

Possibly this is what is happening here.

UDA realizes they will not be able to get as much Jordan product in the future and have raised their pricing to maximize profit of what they have left.

#3 Maximize Exclusive Contract

UDA, along with many other companies, have started signing athletes to exclusive autograph contracts.  

Meaning, for a certain period of time, an athlete can only sign autographs for this one company.

They do this to cut out competition for this athlete's autograph.  

The last thing you want to see happen is shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars only to find another company the following month is doing a signing with the same athlete and charging less than you are.

This cuts into your profit.

So companies have started doing one or multiple year deals to avoid this.

But, when doing this, a company has to pay more in order to get the exclusive deal.  

They want to maximize that big investment they made and get the big return they are hoping for.

UDA has long been Michael Jordan's exclusive memorabilia provider.  If they are no longer able to get product from him, and assuming no one else will be able to), they want to maximize the remaining time they have on that exclusive memorabilia deal.

Conclusion

I certainly think the reason UDA raised their pricing on Jordan is a combination of #2 and #3. 

I have heard through the grapevine that Jordan is no longer signing autographs (#2), but haven't heard of any confirmation from UDA.

If you still need a Jordan autograph for your collection (I think everyone should have one), check out what I have left.