Late Colts owner’s Jim Irsay Collection sets $105M record, largest sale in memorabilia history
The private memorabilia collection of late NFL team owner Jim Irsay has set an all-time auction record, generating more than $105 million across a series of highly competitive sales. As confirmed by auction house Christie’s, the months-long undertaking concluded on 1 July after setting nearly 30 individual world records, headlined by a legendary rock guitar that fetched a historic $14.55 million.The sprawling estate of the late Indianapolis Colts proprietor spanned five separate auctions and saw 404 lots change hands. Experts had long classified the assembly of items as uniquely significant due to its immense cultural variety, which paired historical American documents with sports relics and music history. At the heart of the music sales was a collection of 199 guitars, an assortment previously described by Guitar World magazine as the greatest guitar collection on Earth.The peak of the instrument sales occurred when David Gilmour’s famous black Fender Stratocaster went under the hammer, drawing a winning bid of $14.55 million to secure its place as a record-breaking piece of music history. Following Irsay’s death in May 2025 at the age of 65, the ultimate fate of these treasures remained uncertain until his family partnered with Christie’s New York to launch the public sales in March.
Record-breaking rock relics
Beyond the multi-million-pound guitar sales, the auction floors witnessed intense bidding for rare items originating from American history, literature and popular culture. Among the most coveted historical items sold were a pair of admission tickets to Ford’s Theater dated 14 April 1865, the exact night US President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Bidders also competed for a personal letter written by George Washington to Thomas Jefferson regarding a early draft of the United States Constitution.The decision to disperse the monumental collection was an emotional milestone for the Irsay family, who ultimately chose to retain only a few select pieces for themselves.”This decision was not made lightly, but with deep reflection and love for the legacy he built,” the Irsay family explained in an official statement released through the Indianapolis Colts organization.
A return journey for the big book
While high-profile guitars dominated the financial headlines, the psychological centrepiece of the entire collection was a singular literary manuscript. Known affectionately by Irsay as the crown jewel of his acquisitions, the item was the original 1939 working manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, frequently referred to as the Big Book. Irsay had originally purchased the document for $2.4 million during a 2018 auction in Los Angeles.During the final day of bidding at Christie’s Rockefeller Center in New York, the historic text was initially expected to fetch between $1 million and $2 million. However, competitive bidding pushed the final hammer price exactly back to $2.4 million.
The winning bid was placed by the Stepping Stones Foundation, a dedicated non-profit organization that looks after the historic house of Bill and Lois Wilson. Bill Wilson was one of the co-authors of the text, having written it alongside his recovery partner Henry Parkhurst, a former Standard Oil executive.”It’s coming home,” remarked Sally Corbett-Turco, the executive director of the Historic Home of Bill & Lois Wilson, immediately after securing the winning bid.”The Stepping Stones Foundation is grateful that the manuscript is returning home to be the centerpiece of the Stepping Stones collection,” Corbett-Turco added in a formal statement. “Just as Lois Wilson hoped, the manuscript will be available for future generations of people in recovery to see and be inspired. They will experience it in a place deeply connected to its history and meaning.”
Turning suffering into hope
The manuscript itself contains extensive handwritten notes, revisions and collaborative edits made by the original founders of the movement. For Wilson, the book was the culmination of a deeply personal journey. In 1934, he was a Wall Street businessman who had lost his career, health and public reputation to alcoholism. While undergoing his final stay in a hospital, Wilson experienced a profound spiritual awakening that convinced him a psychological and spiritual approach was necessary for permanent recovery.This realization led directly to the formation of the famous 12-step program, an initiative designed to provide an organized, accessible path to sobriety for millions of individuals worldwide. It was this global impact that motivated Irsay to buy and protect the document during his lifetime.Reflecting on their father’s motivations, Irsay’s daughters and current Colts co-owners, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, noted his desire to support those facing addiction.”Our dad understood the struggles countless people everywhere face every day and wanted so badly to bring hope and relief to anyone who was suffering,” his daughters shared in a joint statement. “This manuscript did just that by introducing the 12-step program to the world and saving millions of lives everywhere. As he was fond of saying, ‘It’s sheer impact on the world makes it one of the most impactful books ever written.'”The family confirmed that 100 per cent of the millions raised from the sale of the Big Book will be directed entirely toward charitable foundations and philanthropic causes that were close to their late father’s heart. Go to Source
