By most accounts, the guitar collection of late Indianapolis Colts CEO and billionaire businessman is the greatest on Earth. No other collection features as many important instruments from the pages of guitar history.
Now, following Irsay’s death earlier this year at the age of 65, the entire monumental collection is headed to the auction block, with a series of auctions set to be hosted by Christie’s New York beginning March 2026.
The billion-dollar guitar collection – valued as such when Irsay was once offered the insane 10-figure sum by a “Middle East element”, an offer he ultimately turned down – includes some of the most important instruments in guitar history, including items owned and played by John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, Janis Joplin, David Gilmour, and dozens of others.
Highlights, in particular, include Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Mustang and David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster – two guitars which hold the #2 and #3 spots on the list of the most expensive guitars ever sold at auction – as well as Eric Clapton’s legendary Fool SG, which sold for $1.27 million in 2023, and John Lennon’s Gretsch 6120 Country Gentleman. And this is just a tiny handful in the massive collection.
Free public exhibitions will accompany the auctions at Christie’s New York – located at 20 Rockefeller Plaza – and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to philanthropic causes championed by Irsay throughout his life.
“Christie’s is honoured to offer this magnificent collection, so lovingly compiled, maintained, and shared by legendary collector Jim Irsay over decades,” says Julien Pradels, president of the Christie’s Americans region.
“These extraordinary objects will be made available to passionate collectors around the globe, who have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of history, and provide this exquisite collection its next chapter.”
More information on the forthcoming auctions will be available in the coming months.
We’ll endeavour to keep you updated here at Guitar.com, but you can also stay tuned via christies.com/irsay.
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