Jackie Robinson's name will always be cemented in the sports and baseball history books as he was one of the first men to break the color barrier in professional sports, becoming the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. This occurred in 1947, when Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers after having played two seasons with their minor league team, the Montreal Royals before that.
Now, Robinson's contract with the Royals, signed in 1945, and his groundbreaking contract with the Dodgers is up for auction and could be worth upwards of $36 million. According to TMZ, this figure comes from Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions who had the contracts appraised by a rare documents expert.
The auction began on Monday, and the opening bid was $5 Million which just goes to show how fascinated people are of these famous documents. In the contract, which is signed by Dodgers president Branch Rickey and National League president Ford Frick states that Robinson must "keep himself in first class physical condition" and "obey the club's training rules."
It was also reported that 10% of the final profits of the auction will go to the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
