National Football League

Joe Montana 'The Drive' jersey sells $1.21M, breaks Tom Brady's auction record

Updated Mar. 2, 2023 4:42 p.m. ET

On the morning of Super Bowl XXIII, Joe Montana's wife, Jennifer, made it a point to recover her husband's game-worn jersey, which he first wore during the San Francisco 49ers' 38-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX, and place it in his bag with a note.

"Maybe you want to wear it again," read the note, according to ESPN.

Montana did just that, and sure enough, it became his lucky jersey as the Hall of Fame QB led the 49ers on a memorable, game-winning 92-yard drive, which famously became known as "The Drive."

That same jersey recently sold for a jaw-dropping $1.212 million, which shattered the previous record paid for a football jersey at auction. The previous record was $480,000 paid for a Tom Brady jersey in January 2022.

"It's only right that the two greatest quarterbacks of all-time are still trading off records, even in retirement," Ken Goldin, who is the founder of the marketplace where the jersey sold, said in a statement via ESPN. "Montana was already in rarefied air with four championship rings and three Super Bowl MVPs — [and] with the record-breaking sale of his Super Bowl XXIII jersey, Montana has surpassed Tom Brady on top of that mountain."

Montana's record-setting jersey sale was part of a month-long auction that included a number of items from his personal memorabilia collection. Montana's jersey from Super Bowl XXIV was also included in the auction, which sold for $720,000.

Montana won four Super Bowls (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV) during his Hall of Fame career, in addition to winning the 1977 national championship at Notre Dame.

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