Jackie Robinson's signed Dodgers contract fetches $276K in auction

Someone just bought a piece of history, and had to pay a pretty penny to acquire it.

A contract that Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 was auctioned off and sold for $276,000 on Monday, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.

The sale of the contract was the third highest price fetched for such an item, according to president of Robert Edward Auctions Brian Dwyer.

Only Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's contract have sold for more.

"Jackie Robinson is a name that transcends sports fandom, which gave this contract a broad appeal, and bidders clamored for an opportunity to acquire such a historic piece," Dwyer explained.

Other pieces of Robinson history have sold for extravagant amounts, such as a bat he used in the 1955 World Series ($255,000) and a hat he wore in the 1950s ($65,025).

Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 when he made his major-league debut with the Dodgers. He went on to appear in six All-Star games and was the Rookie of the Year in '47 and National League MVP in 1949.