Michael Jordan’s mansion still won’t budge on the sales market — and neither will he.
Jordan, the basketball legend known for setting records on the court, is close to achieving another — having the most famous mansion that just won’t sell.
His sprawling Highland Park, Illinois estate, originally listed for $29 million back in 2012 and now reduced to around $15 million, has lingered on the market for more than a decade. Despite the significant price drop, the six-time NBA champion isn’t interested in slashing the price any further, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The question that’s swirling among potential buyers and real estate insiders: is the house too “Michael Jordan” for anyone else?
Guarded by a custom iron gate flaunting Jordan’s uniform number 23, the 56,000-square-foot mansion is a shrine to the GOAT himself. The outdoor putting green sports flags featuring his Nike silhouette, and a home theater displays his likeness in lights.
Inside, Jordan’s name and those of his children — Marcus, Jeffrey and Jasmine — are painted across a full-sized basketball court, while a locker room, trophy room and a cigar-friendly poker parlor complete the picture. Some of the doors come straight from Hugh Hefner’s original Playboy Mansion, and there’s even a built-in aquarium.
But don’t expect any de-Jordanizing to help move this property. Listing agent Katherine Malkin told the Journal: “We haven’t really talked about that because it’s part of the draw. We don’t look at that as being a hindrance.”
Still, selling a celebrity’s ultra-personalized digs is no easy feat.
Derek Jeter’s New York lakefront home, complete with turrets and a mini Statue of Liberty, sat unsold for six years and required nearly $10 million in price cuts before finally moving at $5.1 million. Rocker Slash struggled for two years to find a buyer for his skull-themed mansion — and Joe Pesci’s Goodfellas-style Jersey Shore residence took three years to sell.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s mansion has become a magnet for gawkers.
Tourists routinely pose at the entrance gate, and fans without deep pockets contact Malkin hoping for a free tour or a bargain price. Last year, a teenager even attempted a break-in, despite the property’s round-the-clock security. Recently, a TikTok video falsely suggesting the mansion had flooded went viral, adding to the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the offering.
While Jordan has knocked the price down to $14.85 million, there won’t be any more discounts. He famously pulled out of a 2013 auction because he didn’t want to sell the house for less than it was worth.
As Malkin puts it, “I think most of the people would have gotten anxious at some point and said, you know, I think I’ll just reduce it and reduce it and reduce it.”
Jordan’s camp has tried creative tactics to find the right buyer.
Real estate agent Kofi Nartey led a marketing blitz featuring dramatic videos in both English and Mandarin, leveraging Jordan’s massive popularity in China. Nartey even sweetened the deal by promising a complete collection of Air Jordan sneakers for the lucky buyer.
“The person who buys the home is not buying it just to have a big house but is buying it really for bragging rights and for the legacy that Michael Jordan built with the property,” Nartey told the Journal.
Investors have toyed with ideas to transform the estate into everything from a Michael Jordan museum to a condo complex. But limited parking and strict zoning laws have torpedoed those plans, says Highland Park City Manager Ghida S. Neukirch.
Malkin points out that Jordan’s decision to build a few miles west of Lake Michigan’s coveted waterfront has also been a sticking point. “Most people who are spending that kind of money in the Chicago area want to live on the lake,” she told the outlet. “He chose to not live on the lake because they wanted privacy.”
Interested buyers are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement before even setting foot in the mansion. Dozens of serious buyers have toured the home over the past few years, but no one has bitten.
Jordan, who has paid more than $1 million in taxes on the property since it was first listed and recently invested in a new roof, doesn’t seem fazed.
“Why? Because he can,” Malkin revealed, adding that Jordan’s kids still visit occasionally.
With a fortune that includes $94 million in NBA earnings, $480 million from Nike — and other deals with Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck, not to mention his recent sale of a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets — Jordan is in no rush.
He bought the 7-acre property in 1991, building the mansion around 1994 with his then-wife Juanita. After their divorce in 2006, Jordan kept the house, but with his children grown and multiple residences in Charlotte and Florida, it’s now just another property in his portfolio.
Malkin is holding out for the right buyer, convinced that this mansion will eventually find its match. Jordan isn’t looking for a fan to swoop in for a photo-op. “He doesn’t want someone there to sign a T-shirt. He’s willing to wait,” she says.