How much would you be willing to pay for an unused ticket to Michael Jordan’s first game as a Chicago Bull? We’re going to find out by the end of the week.
Mike Cole first realized he owned something valuable when he read a story about a Michael Jordan first NBA game ticket going for more than a quarter of a million dollars. That’s when he decided he was going to sell his ticket because his may be even more valuable.
This unused, full ticket is from October 26, 1984 when Michael Jordan played his first NBA game against the then-Washington Bullets. The Connecticut man was a Northwestern University student at the time. Cole said he was going to cheer on Washington and had an extra ticket for the game, but couldn’t find anyone to go with him.
He told CBS 2 he has an idea in mind what he’d like to get for the ticket.
"I don’t want to jinx myself so I don’t think it’s appropriate to share because my feeling is also I don’t like to put a cap on it," Cole said. "You know, if someone said they thought it was worth five million, I don’t want them to think, ‘Well, this guy would be happy with 300-thousand.’"
Cole will put the ticket up for auction online, and so far, bidding is at $200,000, with the price expected to go up by Saturday's deadline. Cole expects he’ll make enough money that he and his wife can take a bike trip around Italy next summer.
"I would love to see a Chicagoan purchase it," Cole said. "If a Chicagoan is the highest offer, I will be happy but I am not willing to sacrifice to give a less price to a Chicagoan. That would be my philosophy."