Joe Montana's Super Bowl XXIV Jersey Just Shattered the Record—and It's Still 'Freakishly Underpriced'
Move over, Tom Brady. There's a new king of the NFL memorabilia mountain — and he's been waiting more than three decades for his crown.
On Thursday, high-end collectibles venture Treasure Trove announced it had scooped up a game-worn Joe Montana Super Bowl XXIV jersey for a whopping $1,515,000. That's not just a big number. That's a record — the highest price ever paid for an NFL game-worn jersey.
The previous mark belonged to the jersey Brady wore in his final game, which sold in November 2023 for $1.39 million. But in the eyes of Treasure Trove CEO AJ Scaramucci, Montana's threads are just getting started.
The GOAT Case
Scaramucci isn't shy about why his company dropped seven figures on this iconic piece of history.
"When you zoom out and contextualize this jersey, but also a lot of game-worn jerseys by the GOATs, whether it be in football or basketball or whatever the sport is, you think about the trading card markets," he told ESPN. "There are huge dislocations from an investment perspective in this market, and snagging this jersey, of which there's an unbelievably scarce number of these jerseys out there ... I would argue that game-worn sports memorabilia of this caliber is dramatically and just freakishly underpriced relative to, say, the trading card market."
Translation: In a world where cardboard can command millions, actual game-worn relics from legends might be the steal of the century.
One Shining Moment (Literally)
This isn't just any Montana jersey. This is the one from his final Super Bowl appearance — a masterpiece performance in Super Bowl XXIV, when Montana and the San Francisco 49ers demolished the Cincinnati Bengals 55-10 back in 1990.
Montana was absolutely unstoppable that day, earning Super Bowl MVP honors by completing 75.9% of his passes for 297 yards and five touchdowns. It was the perfect farewell to the biggest stage.
Wait, There's a Quirk
Here's the thing about Montana's Super Bowl jerseys that makes them even rarer: despite playing in four Super Bowls, the Hall of Famer only wore three different jerseys. He rocked the same threads in Super Bowl XXIII that he wore in Super Bowl XIX.
That means each piece of Montana's Super Bowl memorabilia is carrying even more history than you'd think.
This isn't the first time a Montana Super Bowl jersey has reset the market, either. In 2023, the jersey he wore during "The Drive" in Super Bowl XXIII — the same one he doubled up on — sold for a then-record $1.212 million.
Scaramucci believes Montana's perfect 4-0 record in Super Bowls makes his gear an even safer bet than Brady's — because, well, Brady actually lost a few.
"I think Joe Montana, just in terms of the markets of collectibles, is such an underpriced person," he said. "I mean, yes, Tom Brady has more Super Bowls. But Tom Brady also lost a few Super Bowls."
Cold? Maybe. Accurate? Absolutely.
At $1.5 million, Montana's jersey is now the most expensive NFL jersey ever sold. But if Scaramucci is right, this record might not stand forever. In the world of GOAT memorabilia, the only guarantee is that prices keep climbing.