Items from the collection of pro football icon Johnny Unitas headline the 17th annual Super Bowl Live Auction. The newly launched event is once again a joint effort between Hunt Auctions and the NFL.
Over 1,000 football related items are on the block, culminating with a live finale on Saturday, Feb. 10, just ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
Hundreds of items have been consigned by the family of Unitas, the late Hall of Fame quarterback who died in 2002 at age 69.
Unitas blossomed as an emerging collegiate star at Louisville and was drafted in the ninth round by his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. Famously, Unitas ended up not making the Steelers team and was signed by the Baltimore Colts in 1956. After a rocky initial start he became one of the greatest players of the 1950-60s era.
Nicknamed “The Golden Arm,” he led the Colts to the NFL Championship in 1958 which is now referred to as “The Greatest Game Ever Played”. The thrilling overtime victory by the Colts in the 1958 title game was nationally televised and is widely credited with the escalation of popularity of the NFL during the 1960s era.
Unitas’ 14k gold 1958 championship ring is one of the items in the auction and is expected to sell for between $100,000 and $200,000.
Unitas would continue with the Colts for the majority of his career ending with three NFL Championships, one Super Bowl championship, three NFL MVP awards, and a slew of NFL passing records including his vaunted mark of 47 consecutive games with a passing touchdown. His Super Bowl V championship ring is also in the auction.
The items accumulated during his career are being offered publicly for the first time with each accompanied by a letter of provenance from the Unitas family. A portion of the proceeds will benefit NFL Auction Charities.
Family members say they aren’t selling everything from his career and some items were donated for public display years ago.
Other Highlights from the Johnny Unitas Collection:
-Professional model high top cleats c.1970s (Est. $15,000-$30,000)
-1979 Football Hall of Fame Induction ring (Est. $25,000-$50,000)
-Autographed Baltimore Colts professional model helmet c. Late 1960s-early 1970s (Est. $25,000-$50,000)
-1967 NFL Most Valuable Player award: Jim Thorpe Memorial Trophy (Est. $25,000-$50,000)
-1964 Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player Award (Est. $1,500-$3,000)
-Rolex wristwatch (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
Anthony Muñoz Collection:
The 2024 Super Bowl Live auction will also feature items from the personal collection of Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Anthony Muñoz. Selected as the third overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft out of USC, Muñoz had an immediate impact on the Cincinnati Bengals becoming a starting player in his rookie season.
His excellence and durability were unprecedented for the position as he developed into one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the NFL over the next 13 years with the Bengals. Muñoz is universally regarded as one of if not the finest offensive lineman in the history of the game earning eleven Pro Bowl selections and enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The items offered in the auction have been consigned directly by Muñoz.
“The Super Bowl seemed like an ideal place to share a few items from my personal collection with the fans and to contribute to NFL Auction charities,” Muñoz remarked.
Highlights from the Anthony Muñoz Collection:
-December 27, 1992 Final Game Cincinnati Bengals professional model uniform (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
-Cincinnati Bengals professional model jersey c.1980s (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
-Howie Long Oakland Raiders professional model helmet c.1980s (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
-Muñoz autographed “game used” inscribed Pro-Bowl jersey c.1980s (Est. $2,000-$4,000)
-Ronnie Lott San Francisco 49ers professional model helmet c.1990s (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
In addition to the two Hall of Fame player collections, hundreds of other football items dating from the 1900s to present will be offered within the live auction to include several notable private collections. Included among the offerings will be a 2014 Tom Brady autographed and inscribed New England Patriots game worn jersey. The navy-blue Patriots jersey was worn by Brady in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins on September 7, 2014. The jersey has been photo matched by MeiGray to the September 7 game.
Brady led the Patriots to the AFC title in 2014 en route to a Super Bowl championship against the Seattle Seahawks, the fourth Super Bowl victory of his Hall of Fame career. The jersey has been autographed and inscribed with specific game use inscriptions.
According to Hunt Auctions, “Given its impeccable use, signature and inscription by Brady, and photo matched authentication the jersey is considered among the finest New England Patriots Tom Brady game worn jerseys to have entered the market.”
The jersey carries a $250,000 to $500,000 estimate.
Additional Highlight Items:
–2022 Lamar Jackson game worn & photo matched Baltimore Ravens jersey (Est. $20,000-$30,000)
-Lamar Jackson autographed 2018 First NFL Start rookie year game worn cleats (Est. $7,500-$15,000)
-October 1, 2023 Brock Purdy San Francisco 49ers game used jersey (Est. $20,000-$30,000)
-1997 Dan Marino Miami Dolphins professional model jersey (Est. $10,000-$20,000)
-November 16, 2003 Brian Urlacher autographed Game Used Chicago Bears home jersey (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
-Nile Kinnick autograph clipped from his Naval Aviators Flight Log with direct family provenance (Est.$10,000-$20,000)
NFL Auction Items:
Once again, NFL Auction has provided items for the auction with proceeds being awarded by the NFL Foundation to the league’s nonprofit partners such as the American Cancer Society, United Service Organizations, Wounded Warrior Project, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, NFL Player Care Foundation as well as team and player charities. The program has generated more than $8.5 million in charitable contributions over the past seven years. The NFL does not retain any profits by the sale of products derived from the NFL Auction platform.
NFL Auction Highlights:
-10/1/2023 Trevor Lawrence game worn Jacksonville Jaguars jersey. (Est. $15,000-$30,000)
-11/18/2019 Joey Bosa game worn Los Angeles Chargers jersey (Est. $1,500-$3,000)
-10/2/2022 Kirk Cousins game worn Minnesota Vikings jersey (Est. $2,500-$5,000)
-11/13/2022 Kenneth Walker III rookie year game worn Seattle Seahawks jersey (Est. $2,500-$5,000)
– 11/21/2022 Fred Warner game worn San Francisco 49ers jersey. (Est. $2,000-$4,000)
– Super Bowl LII game used football. (Est. $5,000-$7,500)
Live auction items will be available for preview at the Super Bowl Experience to be held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Feb. 7-10. Tickets are required for entrance to Super Bowl Experience, for ticket and date/time information visit https://www.nfl.com/super-bowl/event-info/super-bowl-experience/pcc .
Hunt Auctions experts will be conducting complimentary appraisals for sports memorabilia during the Super Bowl Experience hours.
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