Kevin O’Leary, Partners Spend Record $12.9 Million on Dual Jordan-Bryant Card
kevin-oleary-partners-spend-record-12-9-million-on-dual-jordan-bryant-card
Canadian investor and “Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary has teamed with collectors Matthew Allen and Paul Warshaw to buy the only Michael Jordan–Kobe Bryant dual Logoman autographed patch card ever produced, paying $12.932 million during a Heritage Auctions sale early Sunday.
The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection card now ranks as the most expensive sports card ever sold, eclipsing the $12.6 million paid last year for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 graded Mint-Plus SGC 9.5.
Unique piece called a “holy grail”
Heritage director of sports auctions Chris Ivy described the card as irreplaceable, noting no other Logoman card carries signatures and patches from both NBA legends. “Another one can’t be created,” he said.
The buyers
O’Leary, known on television as “Mr. Wonderful,” joined longtime hobby figures Allen—recognized online as Shyne150—and Miami entrepreneur Warshaw for the purchase. In a CNBC interview Monday, O’Leary said he served as the group’s “numbers and analytics guy” while his partners brought deep card-collecting experience.
Allen wrote on Instagram that he would typically keep such a purchase private for months but viewed this transaction differently because of its significance.
An asset built to hold
O’Leary, 71, told CNBC he does not expect the card to return to market during his lifetime, likening the piece to holdings such as bitcoin or gold. The trio finalized the deal during a late-night Zoom call that ran until 3 a.m. Saturday, O’Leary added, joking that his wife thought the bid was “crazy.”
Source: Basketball Insiders
