Michael Jordan has reportedly found a buyer for his sprawling estate in the Chicago area. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the NBA legend’s massive suburban mansion went under contract on Sunday after being on the market for 12 and a half years.
Jordan first put his 56,000-square-foot home, completed in 1994, up for sale in 2012 with an initial asking price of $29 million. Located about 25 miles north of Chicago in Highland Park, the property has gone through multiple price cuts over the years to attract buyers. By 2015, the price had dropped to $14.855 million—a nod to Jordan’s iconic jersey number, as the digits total 23. While the final sale price won’t be confirmed for another 20 to 30 days, this marks a long-awaited resolution to the home’s drawn-out selling process.
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Read on to discover why Jordan’s effort to sell the enormous property was far from effortless.
Why was Michael Jordan’s house struggling to sell?
The home has become an unofficial Chicago-area landmark, attracting numerous visitors who stop by to snap photos in front of the gate marked with Jordan’s iconic retired jersey number, “23.” However, despite the fan interest, serious buyers didn’t line up when Jordan, whose children are now grown and who owns other properties in Florida, Utah, and North Carolina, chose to sell. A recent Wall Street Journal article delved into the difficulties in selling the property, with some speculating that the uniquely “Jordanesque” nature of the mansion might have made it harder to find a buyer.
Custom features of the home
Jordan played a central role in designing the home, and some suggest the highly personalized, MJ-themed touches made it harder to attract a buyer. The nine-bedroom, 19-bath (15 full, four half) estate is full of custom features, starting with the iron gate displaying the number 23. The property also boasts Jordan’s “Jumpman” logo on flags around the outdoor putting green, a locker room, a trophy room, and a full-size basketball court with the names of Jordan and his children—Marcus, Jeffrey, and Jasmine—painted on the floor. The home even includes a cigar and poker room, reflecting Jordan’s love of cards, complete with a humidor and poker tables, and doors from Chicago’s original Playboy Mansion.
Though some questioned why Jordan and his realtor didn’t depersonalize the space before putting it on the market, listing agent Katherine Malkin of Compass said these features were key selling points. “It’s part of the draw. We don’t see it as a hindrance,” she told the *Wall Street Journal*.
There were ideas to market the property as something other than a private residence, such as a Michael Jordan museum, conference center, or even condominiums. However, zoning restrictions and limited parking made those options less feasible. Additionally, most potential buyers in the area prefer homes closer to Lake Michigan, which is two miles away, according to Malkin.
Another factor slowing the sale? The hefty property taxes, which total approximately $148,000 a year.
Why was Michael Jordan’s home the focus of a TikTok controversy?
Jordan’s mansion was recently caught up in a TikTok controversy when a video surfaced claiming to show flooding inside the property, which looked abandoned and neglected. The clip, shared by “urban explorer” Decaying Midwest, featured a flooded indoor basketball court with a Bulls logo and a kitchen mid-renovation. Although the video is no longer available on the Decaying Midwest page, tabloids and news outlets picked up the story.
However, the rumors were quickly debunked. A lawyer for Jordan reportedly contacted the TikTok account, and a follow-up post clarified that the mansion in the video was not Jordan’s Highland Park estate, putting an end to the speculation.
For those who regret not having the chance to tour the property during its 12 years on the market, it wasn’t an easy feat anyway. Prospective buyers had to sign a nondisclosure agreement before viewing the house. And while the listing, which features only a few photos, is still available for now, it pays homage to its famous owner: every TV pictured in the images shows Jordan on the screen.