Joe Montana Super Bowl jersey shatters auction record previously held by Tom Brady jersey

The jersey Joe Montana wore for not one, but two Super Bowl victories was sold in auction last week, shattering the previous record held by Tom Brady for the most expensive football jersey ever sold. 

The Montana jersey sold for $1.2 million on Goldin Auctions Wednesday after spending more than two weeks on the auction block. The previous record for a football jersey sold at an auction was Brady's 2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey, which sold for $480,000 in January 2022.

"Joe Montana was already in rarefied air with four championship rings and three Super Bowl MVPs," Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin, said in a statement to USA TODAY.  "With the record-breaking sale of his Super Bowl XXIII jersey, Montana has surpassed Tom Brady on top of that mountain. It's only right that the two greatest quarterbacks of all time are still trading off records, even in retirement."

The jersey also comes with a hand-written letter from Montana. 

Frenzy to buy Joe Montana jersey

The jersey was first bid on Feb. 10 for $250,000, and bids continued to be placed throughout the month, with the jersey surpassing the record for Brady's jersey on Feb. 22 when a bid at $485,000 was placed.

However, the jersey was placed in extending bidding, which went into a frenzy on March 1 when a bid for $510,000 was placed. 

In the next four hours, 10 more bid were placed, and ultimately, the winning bid was made that night.

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Joe Montana Super Bowl winning jersey

The jersey is arguably one of the winningest jerseys ever worn in football history, as Montana wore it for two Super Bowl victories, one of which he was named Super Bowl MVP.

Montana wore the jersey in 1985 in Super Bowl 19, when the San Francisco 49ers defeated Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins 38-16 at Stanford Stadium in California. Montana was named Super Bowl MVP after completing 24-of-35 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns, including a rushing touchdown. 

Four years later, the 49ers returned to the Super Bowl to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 23. Goldin said the morning of the game, Montana's wife, Jennifer, took his Super Bowl 19 jersey out of a scrapbook and put it into the bag he was taking to the game with a note that read, "Maybe you want to wear it again."

Montana wore the jersey again, which is known for the "The Drive" – when the 49ers went 92 yards down the field in the final minutes of the game, ending with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Montana to John Taylor with 34 seconds left to take the lead and win 20-16. 

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More Joe Montana items up for sale

The jersey was part of Montana auctioning off personal collection from his football career, including memorabilia from his high school and college playing days. Some of the items up for auction include: 

• Montana's uniform he wore in the final game he played with the 49ers
• Signed football from Montana's last touchdown pass as a 49er 
• Montana's game used Notre Dame helmet
• Montana's Mackey Award for Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
• Montana's Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Jacket

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.