An anonymous bidder paid a record £9.56m ($12.9m) at an auction for a basketball card signed by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant making it the most expensive sports collectable card in history.

The card is known as the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Jordan & Bryant card and was sold by Heritage Auctions in the United States.

It had been in the hands of its previous owner for more than a decade and went into auction with a valuation expecting it to achieve £4.4m ($6m) or above. In total 82 bids were then received as the estimate was more than doubled.

The winning bid beat the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which was sold for $12.6m in August 2022, though the exchange rate at the time meant this was equivalent to £10.8m.

The Jordan-Bryant card is the second most expensive sports collectable ever, behind baseball legend Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series “called the shot” jersey which sold for £18.1m ($24.12) in August 2024.

Heritage’s director of sports auctions Chris Ivy told ESPN the Jordan-Bryant card was “the pinnacle” for modern card collectors.

He added that “another one can’t be created” and has always been looked at by modern basketball collectors as a “holy grail”.

“The pre-auction estimate was $6m-plus. So sometimes if a piece is unique like this, it’s really beneficial to let it have its day,” Ivy said.

Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player in NBA history winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls between 1991 and 1998.

Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020, is also considered an NBA legend and won five championships during a two-decade stint at LA Lakers between 1996 and 2016.