Following the May 2025 death of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, the billionaire’s collection of music and pop cultural memorabilia recently headed to auction. Guitars previously owned by late Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour sold for millions. But apparently, Irsay had an appetite for more than just music history. His collection also included Jack Kerouac’s original On the Road manuscript, a typed single-spaced, 120-page behemoth. During the auction Thursday (March 12), that relic was snapped up by none other than Grammy-winning country singer—and avowed Kerouac fanboy—Zach Bryan.
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According to the Herald-Times, Irsay paid $2.43 million for the scroll in 2001. At the time, that marked the highest price tag ever fetched for a piece of literature at an auction. With the manuscript up for grabs again, the “Revival” hitmaker, 29, placed the winning bid of $12,135 million, according to Rolling Stone.
This Isn’t Zach Bryan’s First Piece of Jack Kerouac History
Zach Bryan has frequently cited the Beat author as a primary source of inspiration for his own work, specifically the 2022 song “Burn, Burn, Burn.” The first draft of Kerouac’s seminal 1957 work is a stellar addition to the Grammy winner’s collection after he purchased the historic former Saint Jean Baptiste Church building in Lowell, Massachusetts—where his favorite author was once an altar boy—last year.
With the property now under his control, Bryan plans to work with the Jack Kerouac Foundation to establish a Jack Kerouac Museum, Performance, and Education Center inside the church.
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind Zach Bryan’s Jack Kerouac-Inspired “Burn Burn Burn”]
“We’ve been working on this deal with Zach and his team for several months,” the Kerouac estate’s Sylvia Cunha said at the time. “He stepped up and delivered in a big way, showing incredible generosity. Our immediate focus is to bring the building up to code so we can start using the space for music and other events while forming new partnerships to help us bring this vision to life and ensure its lasting success.”
The foundation announced plans for the center in November 2022. However, funding had apparently stalled until Zach Bryan bought the church.
Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for ABA
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