During his presidency, Barack Obama was known to be an avid sports fan, especially basketball, which he played all the time. As many basketball fans and casual bracket watchers did every March, the first Black president filled out his NCAA Tournament bracket that showed the teams he predicted would win each round of March Madness and the overall winner.
Now, one of those brackets from 2013 is up at Heritage Auctions. The auction will end March 25.
The whiteboard that the predictions are written on is expected to fetch $20,000, according to the auction house. The listing also states that the actual video that captured him writing on the board shows evidence of the match.
The listing is as follows:
“2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Filled Out & Signed by President Barack Obama with Video Match. The forty-fourth President of the United States was the biggest hoops fan ever to occupy the White House, and he made an annual tradition of posting his March Madness bracket for the public every year, a tradition he maintains to this date. This is Obama’s first bracket after his reelection in November 2012, and if you Google “Obama 2013 bracket” you’ll find video of the former POTUS making all of his picks for the last thirty-one games.”
The auction house also states that the whiteboard is “framed behind plexiglass to ensure it isn’t erased.” The board, which measures 36″ x 63,” was originally purchased at an auction where the proceeds benefitted a charity.
The item does have a verified large signature from the former president himself, which has been graded a 10/10.
The 2013 NCAA Tournament bracket that President Barack Obama filled out is about to hit the auction block … and TMZ Sports has learned it could fetch $20,000! https://t.co/r97oyANjnv
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 4, 2023
Obama’s bracket was always widely anticipated and scrutinized when he released it every year.