Connor McDavid's game-worn jersey from the night he scored his first NHL goal sold privately for more than $250,000 within the last few months, according to documents obtained and reviewed by cllct.
The sale of the jersey, which is photo-matched by MeiGrey to an Oct. 13, 2015, game at Dallas, the third of McDavid’s career, set a new record for the most expensive McDavid jersey ever.
The sixth-most expensive NHL jersey sale of all time — the top five all filled by Wayne Gretzky jerseys — this sale also marks the record for any NHL jersey of a player who made his debut in the 21st century. The jersey was originally purchased directly in a private transaction from MeiGray in October 2015 by Ryan Weiner.
McDavid has since become a generational talent, winning five Art Ross trophies and three Hart trophies.
The sale was brokered by Nick Cepero, a sports collectibles broker and collector.
McDavid already had become the NHL’s top prospect by the time he debuted in 2015, labelled a future generational talent by many of the game’s top experts. This led to a spike in demand for early McDavid game-worn material, according to Barry Meisel, President of MeiGray.
"If they don’t get them the first time, they're probably going to pay many multiples when they try to find it on the secondary market,” Meisel said of collectors’ attempts to acquire fresh-to-market, game-worn jerseys from players such as McDavid.
Meisel, who found himself inundated with offers for early game-worn McDavid jerseys when the six-time All-Star debuted in 2015, says he had not seen that level of hype for an NHL prospect since Sydney Crosby, nearly a decade earlier.
MeiGray has matched the jersey to two NHL games, and it is one of 37 jerseys in their population report from McDavid’s rookie season. Prior to this sale, the public record for any McDavid jersey was $75,000.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct. You can follow him on X at @Will__Stern.