National Basketball Association

MJ's Chicago home up for auction

Published Oct. 19, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

It is nearly official now: For Michael Jordan, all that's left in Chicago are the memories (and a statue).

His Airness is auctioning off the 56,000 square-foot suburban Chicago estate he lived in for 20 years.

"My kids are grown now and I don't need a large house in Chicago," Jordan told the Wall Street Journal. "It was time for some warmer weather down at my new home in Florida."

The estate — which sits on 7.39 acres approxiomately 30 minutes outside Chicago and includes a tennis court, deep-water pond, climate-controlled garages, nine bedrooms and 19 bathrooms — has been listed at separate times for $29 million and $21 million since February 2012. Other highlight features include a front gate with Jordan's iconic No. 23 stretching across it and, of course, a full-length basketball court Jordan had installed in 2001.

Currently the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, the Hall of Famer played 13 seasons for the Chicago Bulls, winning six NBA championships. Jordan purchased the land on which the house sits in 1991, the year he won his first ring, and moved into the house in 1994.

Jordan said he decided to put up the house for auction because "some of the best things in the world are sold at auction.

"I've seen that this is the beginning of a trend for selling unique, one-of-a-kind homes," he said.

There is no reserve price on the home, although prospective bidders are required to put down a $250,000 deposit for the opportunity. In other words, it will take more than cracking open the piggy bank and digging underneath the sofa cushions.