When being larger-than-life feels like your daily routine, you’re probably living like Michael Jordan. If someone had the guts to leave the game at his peak, not just once, but multiple times, it has to be MJ. Next, whatever Jordan touched turned into tomorrow’s headline. His today outfits become tomorrow’s trends. His sneakers became the go-to dream shoe, even in schools. At this point, Michael Jordan isn’t just a person anymore; he’s a global brand. Anything stamped with the name “Jordan” has the power to blow up overnight. And McDonald’s caught on to the trend.

Remember the McJordan Barbecue Sauce? Yes, that one slathered on McJordan Burgers, named after the legend himself, Michael Jordan. Back in the ’90s, when Jordan was busy picking up NBA titles one by one, McDonald’s rolled out this limited-time burger in select markets. And surprisingly, Mort Bank, a former McDonald’s owner from Bismarck, held onto a full gallon of that rare sauce after selling his restaurants in 1996. That man had vision. He probably didn’t realize this “Jordan”-tagged sauce would someday surprise him in the best way possible. Call it marketing instinct or plain luck, either way, it paid off.

Bank held onto that gallon of sauce, hoping it might be worth something someday. Turns out, he was right. In 2012, Bank threw the sauce up on eBay with a bold pitch: “A once in a lifetime chance to own the rarest of rare Michael Jordan and McDonald’s collectible!” And guess what? It sold for an unbelievable $9,995. Yes, almost ten grand for a jug of old barbecue sauce. It wasn’t worn by MJ, didn’t touch his MVP feet, and had no signature on it. But it carried the Jordan name, and that alone made it a collector’s jackpot. Even now, 13 years later, Michael Jordan still holds the title of McDonald’s wildest, record-breaking deal, in a brand worth $215 billion.

A recent Instagram post brought that once-in-a-lifetime sauce back into the spotlight. The image showed Michael Jordan alongside the famous jug. The post also featured a line from Mort Bank at the time. He said, “If I had known it was going to be red hot on the Internet, I might have done it differently, but $10,000 for barbecue sauce is pretty good.” Honestly, Michael Jordan’s name and legacy are more like a vintage wine. The longer you hold on, the sweeter the payoff. Sure, ten thousand dollars for sauce is not a bad deal at all. 

But if the former McDonald’s owner had waited a few more years, who knows, maybe that price tag would’ve doubled. Now, we all know who sold that antique jug of sauce back then. But do you know who bought that red-hot relic?

Did Michael Jordan buy back his own jug of sauce?

Now, with NBC sliding back into the NBA scene, it’s not just bringing basketball, it’s reviving that gritty ’90s soul. Roundball Rock, oversized jerseys, and, of course, Michael Jordan. People still chase anything with his label, whether it’s a highlight reel or a dusty old jug of barbecue sauce. But here’s the juicy bit: everyone knows who sold that relic, but do you know the brave soul who dropped the cash on it?

Bank had a pretty good guess about the buyer’s type without naming who the person was. “I’m sure he’s a Bulls or Michael Jordan fan, and hopefully he’s not going to put it on his ribs or his burger,” he joked and then clarified it wasn’t Michael Jordan but someone who was a fan.  At the end of the day, though, Bank made it clear it wasn’t his problem anymore. “But it’s up to him; he can do whatever he wants with it,” he said.

It turned out that, Bank wasn’t new to the collector’s hustle and was waiting to print dollars from a bottle of sauce. “It was in my basement and I would look at it occasionally,” he told The Bismarck Tribune. “I thought it would be worth something someday.” For years, he’d been flipping them on eBay, shipping stuff as far as China, Japan, Brazil, and Europe. But nothing ever hit like that barbecue sauce did.