LeBron James’ $3.7 Million Jersey Part of Great Miami Heat Interstate Heist

It was part of a greater theft by Perez, which he conducted when he was employed as a security officer with the Miami Heat. This LeBron James jersey was part of a massive collection of merchandise that was stolen.

LeBron James’ jersey was among 400 stolen game-worn jerseys

LeBron James wore that jersey in the 2013 NBA Finals. Since then, it has been stored away in a secure equipment room. The Miami Heat had intended to display that jersey, along with several other monumental memorabilia, in a museum down the line.

During his employment, Perez accessed the equipment room multiple times to steal over 400 game-worn jerseys and other items, which he then sold to various online marketplaces. Over a three-year period, Perez sold over 100 stolen items for approximately $2 million and shipped them across state lines, often for prices well below their market value.

U.S. Attorney’s Office’s statement

This means there were many jerseys and other memorabilia that went missing, but were not detected. It is surprising that Marcos Perez, a Miami Police Department veteran, went about this theft without it coming to the notice of the Miami Heat.

It seems the franchise got wind of it only after they started tallying everything under their roof. Once they informed law enforcement, they searched Perez’s residence, where they seized an additional 300 stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia.

LeBron James’ jersey ranks among the most expensive game-worn jerseys

It seems Marcos Perez was in dire need of funds. That is probably why he did not envision the jersey’s value. He sold it for $100,000, but it would go on to fetch $3.7 million a few years later.

That LeBron James Game 7 jersey from the 2013 NBA Finals was the 3rd most expensive game-worn jersey of all time. Until this last February, the jersey was behind Michael Jordan’s $10.091 million Last Dance jersey, and Diego Maradona ‘s $9.28 million ‘Hand of God’ jersey.

Jordan’s autographed rookie debut jersey, which sold for $4.215 million in March. A month later, Kobe Bryant’s rookie debut jersey sold for a whopping $7.004 million. Both of them were expected to rake in $10 million each, but ultimately went for much lower.

Both those jerseys have overtaken James’ one. Considering how valuable those jerseys are, it is possible that the prices will keep rising as collectors become desperate to hold on to a piece of greatness.