James Harrison, the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and two-time Super Bowl champion, revealed he’s ready to part ways with a piece of his own championship history. The comment came during a livestream on the “Deebo & Joe” show, after news broke that a Joe Montana jersey had just shattered a longstanding sports memorabilia record.
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Montana’s jersey from Super Bowl XXIV, when the 49ers demolished the Denver Broncos 55-10, sold for $1.515 million. It became the most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold, a record previously held by Tom Brady’s final-game jersey, which had sold for $1.39 million. When asked by co-host Joe Haden if Harrison would sell his Super Bowl XLIII jersey, here’s what he said:
“It’s gone, Joe. Let it listen. To the highest bidder, Joe. It’s gone to the highest bidder,” Harrison said on the show. “That thing got sold in ’24, ’23, something like that. Wasn’t that much, maybe like $216,000.”
Who wouldn’t want to own Harrison’s jersey, with which he made his iconic 100-yard interception return against the Arizona Cardinals? The latter was at Pittsburgh’s 2, on 1st-and-goal with only seconds remaining in the first half. Quarterback Kurt Warner threw a pass intended for Anquan Boldin, but Harrison snagged the ball. From there, he ran all the way to the other end of the field, giving the Steelers a 17-7 lead.
That interception return is still the longest play in Super Bowl history. It helped Pittsburgh beat Arizona 27-23 to win their sixth Lombardi Trophy. Harrison also won Defensive Player of the Year that same season, becoming the only undrafted player to win the award.
Haden, also a former NFL cornerback, pushed back on the idea of selling something tied to that moment. Harrison didn’t budge, arguing the memory matters more than the object itself.
“Anything that I have done and I have actually did live through it, and I acquired a piece of material possession from it. It can be sold. It can be bought,” Harrison said. “Can’t nobody never take away that memory from you. It happened. It’s already done.”
The two also touched on other iconic Steelers memorabilia sales during the discussion, including the “Immaculate Reception” jersey, which sold for $216,000, and the ball from that same 1972 playoff catch, which went for $126,000.
Harrison closed his side of the debate on a simple note about value, framing his openness to sell not as a lack of sentiment, but as a practical read on what actually matters once a moment has already happened.
“I’m not willing to pay a million to keep it. That’s how I look at it.”
For Harrison, the jersey that once belonged to one of the most famous moments of his career has found a new home. At the same time, its six-figure sale has given another piece of Steelers history a place among the sport’s most valuable collectibles.