Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts owner who died in May 2025, was a world-renowned collector, amassing a trove of memorabilia from across sports, music, movies and pop culture. He said he once turned down a $1.15 billion offer for the entire set.
Starting in March, items from that extraordinary collection will be available for purchase via the auction house Christie’s.
The Irsay family announced in October that it would sell most of Jim’s memorabilia, keeping some items and providing a portion of the proceeds to charity. The decision, the family said at the time, “was not made lightly, but with deep reflection and love for the legacy he built.”
ESPN had the opportunity to view a handful of pieces from the collection at the Christie’s warehouse in Brooklyn, including Kurt Cobain’s trademark 1969 Lake Placid blue Fender Mustang and Muhammad Ali’s WBC Heavyweight Championship “Rumble in the Jungle” belt.
Christie’s pre-auction estimates just for the items viewed by ESPN approach $40 million.
Other items going up for auction include Jack Kerouac’s original scroll of “On The Road,” which Irsay purchased in 2001 for $2.43 million.
Irsay’s collection will be available for bidding online from March 3-17, with in-person auctions on March 12, 13 and 14. The collection will be on free public display at Christie’s New York, and selections will be exhibited at Christie’s of London (Jan. 16-22) and Los Angeles (Feb. 4-6), leading up to Super Bowl LX in San Francisco (Feb. 3-7) and in Las Vegas (Feb. 20-22).
(All estimates provided by Christie’s.)
Ringo Starr drum kit
One of the premier items from the collection is Ringo Starr’s first-ever drum kit, used on all early Beatles recordings. Also going on sale are the snare and bass drum from Starr’s second kit – notably, the one used during The Beatles’ legendary 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Collectively, the drums have a $2.05 million to $4.05 million pre-auction estimate. (Starr’s 9-carat gold pinky ring that he wore from 1961 to 1969 is also up for auction — estimated between $60,000 and $100,000.)
Kurt Cobain’s 1969 Lake Placid blue Fender Mustang
Cobain’s guitar was immortalized in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video and on Nirvana’s In Utero album. When it last went for sale in 2022, Julien’s Auctions estimated the guitar would sell for $600,000 to $800,000. But Irsay opened bidding at $2 million and ultimately paid $4.55 million. According to Guitar World, that was the second-most ever paid for a guitar at a public auction, behind another Cobain axe — the 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric Cobain played during Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged concert — which sold for $6.01 million in 2020. Christie’s pre-auction estimate for the Fender is $2.5 million to $5 million.
Muhammad Ali WBC Championship Belt
Ali’s belt from his “Rumble in the Jungle” 1974 heavyweight championship victory over George Foreman – one of only two known Ali WBC belts – sold for $358,500 in 2016 and $120,000 in 2017 before Irsay paid $6.18 million for it in 2022. Christie’s expects the belt to be one of the entire collection’s top earners, with a pre-auction estimate of $2.5 million to $4 million.
Muhammad Ali “Thrilla in Manila” boots
In 1975, Ali and Joe Frazier famously went 14 rounds before Frazier’s manager surrendered the fight from the corner. Christie’s estimate for Ali’s boots from one of boxing’s most famous bouts is $200,000 to $300,000.
“Rocky” original script and boots
Sylvester Stallone’s early days in Hollywood were punctuated by background roles to make ends meet. That changed when Stallone watched Chuck Wepner fight Muhammad Ali, and wrote what would become Rocky over three days with a ballpoint pen. He was offered $360,000 for the script, but without Stallone in the titular role, so he turned it down. Despite being carless with roughly $100 to his name, Stallone made the film for about $1 million, and the rest is history. The boots he wore while training for the film (est. $4,000 to $6,000) and a Mead spiral notebook containing 28 pages of Stallone’s original script (est. $200,000 to $400,000) are up for auction.
Secretariat saddle
In 1973, jockey Ron Turcotte rode Secretariat to the first Triple Crown in 25 years, including a record 2:24 mile-and-a-half at the Belmont Stakes — which still hasn’t been broken. Fifty years later, Irsay bought the saddle directly from Turcotte, who died in August 2025 at age 84. Christie’s estimate for the saddle is $1.5 million to $2 million.
John Lennon & Jerry Garcia guitars
Irsay’s collection has no shortage of singularly recognized guitars — including John Lennon’s 1963 Gretsch Chet Atkins, played on recording sessions of “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” ($600,000 to $800,000), and Jerry Garcia’s famed custom Doug Irwin guitar dubbed “Tiger” ($1 million to $2 million). Other guitars up for auction include David Gilmour’s “The Black Strat” of Pink Floyd fame ($2 million to $4 million) and Eric Clapton’s 1939 Martin 000-42 that he played during his MTV Unplugged performance ($800,000 to $1.2 million).
Wilson volleyball from “Cast Away”
Arguably no film prop carried a plot more effectively than the volleyball Wilson from the 2000 movie “Cast Away.” (The company Wilson still sells replicas for $22.) Irsay once said his biggest regret was not paying a mere $18,000 for Wilson at auction. He eventually acquired it, and Christie’s estimates that Tom Hanks’ inanimate costar now could fetch $60,000 to $80,000.
Letter from Steve Jobs to childhood friend Tim Brown
Before Steve Jobs co-founded Apple, he was an 18-year-old college dropout living at a commune, writing a letter to his high school friend on the eve of his 19th birthday. He mused on Zen Buddhism, what the future might hold, and whether he wanted to stop working — a rare sliding-doors moment committed to paper. Christie’s pre-auction estimate is $250,000 to $500,000.
Jackie Robinson bat used in 1953 MLB season
Robinson bats rarely come to auction — but when they do, competition is fierce. (Robinson’s bat from the 1949 MLB All-Star game, consigned directly from his family, sold for $1.08 million at auction in 2022.) Irsay’s collection boasts a Hillerich & Bradsby O16 model that Robinson used during the 1953 season, in which he hit .329 and made his second-to-last All-Star game appearance. The pre-auction estimate is conservative, $250,000 to $350,000.
Beatles dissolution Affidavit
Break-ups aren’t often a glamorous affair … but, then again, most aren’t written down. Paul McCartney’s 1970 affidavit that signified the official end of The Beatles is expected to go for $100,000 to $150,000.
