It is no secret that Michael Jordan loves to gamble, and a former University of North Carolina student who won a seemingly insignificant bet against the Hall of Famer more than 30 years ago has managed to turn the minuscule earnings into a massive investment.
A check that was signed by Jordan back in 1984 — when he was still playing at UNC — is currently on the auction block at Goldin Auctions. TMZ shared the background story of the $5 check, and it’s pretty awesome. On Feb. 27, 1984, Jordan won a string of games playing pool against a fellow student in the basement of the Granville Towers on UNC’s campus. A friend of the guy Jordan was playing against thought MJ was hustling his buddy, so he stepped in and beat Jordan a few games in a row. Jordan supposedly became irritated when he was only up $5 and decided to cash out, at which point the gentleman who owed the $5 came up with a clever idea.
The guy knew Jordan was likely going to be an NBA superstar, so he asked if he could write him a check for $5 instead of paying cash. Jordan agreed. When MJ later signed the check and cashed it, the original was returned to the person who wrote it. He held onto it for all these years. Goldin says Jordan’s signature has been authenticated, and you can see a photo of the check here.
Obviously, that story is tame compared to some of the legendary MJ gambling tales we have heard, but you have to give the “loser” credit for thinking to pay Jordan with a check. That was some unbelievable forward thinking.
