Does a record sale really impact you, the collector? The Hobby debates

Chicago Tribune via Getty Images

Collectors, by now I’m sure you’ve heard… Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful and two partnersplaced the winning bid at Heritage Auctions for the Michael Jordan / Kobe Bryant Logoman, now the most expensive sports card ever sold.

The $12.93M price put the card ahead of a copy of the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311, which went for $12.6M in August 2022. It’s an astonishing sum for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is that the list of most expensive cards ever sold is dominated by vintage baseball, and this card is both modern and basketball.

Hobby chatter was alive this week, with every writer, influencer andMantel poster opining about what this sale means in a macro-sense. Is it good? Is it bad? Does it impact the value of other cards?

Let's take a look...

cllct: Get Over It: The Hobby Has Always Been a Business!

After the record-setting MJ-Kobe Logoman sale, hobby purists once again cried foul over investor influence, but cllct’s Will Stern reminds us that this isn’t new. Yes, wax prices are brutal and kids are getting squeezed out of retail. But PSA 10s and 1/1s aren’t required to build a collection; to enjoy the hobby, you just need the interest and a bit of guidance. There’s still room in the hobby for joy, storytelling, and $10 Wemby rookies. The soul of collecting isn’t gone — it’s just louder now, more visible, and, like everything else in 2025, more expensive.

Card Chat: Why This Card Boom Is Different (And Dangerous)

Card Chat scribe (andHobby Awards judge),Suzy Lulgjuraj, delivered a nice counterpoint to Stern’s take, calling out the worry that The Hobby is becoming an investment vehicle for corporations and high-net-worth groups, not a playground for passionate fans. Between soaring wax prices, the rise of repacks, and dealers bemoaning more sellers than buyers, the card economy feels top-heavy. Yes, artificial scarcity keeps things shiny, but the soul of The Hobby — the joy of collecting — may be getting buried under spreadsheets and marketing decks.

What do you think?Let us know over at Mantel.

The Athletic: What Sports Card Could Sell for $13M or More? We Asked the Experts

While the folks at Heritage Auctions are still counting bills from Mr. Wonderful’s $12.93M purchase, The Hobby can’t help but wonder… what major sale is coming next? Will a PSA 10 ‘52 Mantle break the Logoman record and reclaim the top spot for The Mick and vintage baseball? A high-grade T206 Wagner? A modern unicorn like the LeBron-Jordan dual Logoman? The appetite for ultra-rare, high-grade vintage remains strong, but modern grails, especiallyExquisite-era one-of-ones, are making noise. Per The Athletic and a host of experts they paneled, the question isn’t if another eight-figure card will hit the block… it’s when. And where. And how loud The Hobby will get when it does.

Popverse: Ultra-Rare Charizard 1st Edition Card Just Became the Most Expensive Pokémon Card Sold on eBay This Year

It’s not just sports card sales making noise these days (like we asked a few weeks ago…is the card market back!?). A 1999 Pokémon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard graded PSA 10 just sold on eBay for a staggering $271,000, making it the most expensive Pokémon card sold on the platform in 2025. The card’s value stems from its rarity (first U.S. print, shadowless variant), pristine condition (virtually flawless after 26 years), and its starring Pokémon: Charizard, the crown jewel of any vintage set. The result vaults it into all-time great status among Pokémon card sales and underscores why collectors keep chasing these nostalgic grails.

Mantel: Fantasy Football Meets the Hobby: Which Stars Are Overvalued and Undervalued when Comparing Prizm Silver PSA 10 Prices?

If you’re prepping your fantasy football draft plans, this is a fun one from ourMike Metzler. Using data from130pt analyzing PSA 10 Prizm Silver Rookie sales against Yahoo’s 2025 fantasy football projections, Mike discovered an interesting disconnect — that card prices and fantasy rankings don’t always go hand-in-hand. For instance, Bijan Robinson, the No. 2 fantasy player, sells for just $87, or less than half of a Malik Nabers card (10th on the Yahoo list, $194 card price). Meanwhile, Caleb Williams ($694) and Drake Maye ($458) outprice veterans like Kyler Murray and Brock Purdy, who are smarter picks for your fantasy roster. Quarterbacks continue to dominate collector value, while RBs, always fantasy gold, remain hobby cold. The edge? Spotting players with fantasy upside and hobby price lag. We don’t give investment advice, but Bijan may be 2025’s crossover steal.

Yahoo Sports is Teaming Up With ghostwrite to Launch Limited Edition Yahoo Fantasy 100% ghost

Speaking of fantasy football, two FOM (friends of Mantel, duh) are teaming up to launch a limited edition collectible tied to the upcoming NFL season. Yahoo Sports and ghostwrite, the creators of the highly coveted “ghost” collectibles, are releasing the first ever 100% ghost sold to the public directly vs. via a Blind Box (where you don’t know what you get until you open the box). Only 1,000 editions of the Yahoo Fantasy 100% ghost exist and will be made available first to Yahoo Fantasy Plus subscribers, who get an exclusive window to purchase the ghost beginning Sept. 1 at 9:00am ET. If supplies last (Ed's note: they likely won’t…), the Yahoo Fantasy 100% ghost will become available to all beginning Sept. 3 at 9:00am ET. Just spitballing here but the ghost would make a killer fantasy football league championship trophy…

Mantel: Taylor Swift Engagement: A Deep Dive into Her Diverse Collectibles Market

OK, I admit it, this is sort of a cheap SEO ploy to find new readers who can’t get enough Swift/Kelce content, but we recently published a look at the Taylor Swift collectibles market, specifically cards featuring the global icon/pop star/NFL WAG, and well, there ain’t much out there. But even though it’s slim pickings in the Swift card market, collectors can grab custom “Taylor Made” cards or a Topps card commemorating the infamous Kanye moment, plus Leaf’s Pop Century autos and Garbage Pail Kids tributes. For collectors who want to own what Taylor owns vs. items featuring her, Hodinkee has a piece about the Cartier Santos Demoiselle she wore in her engagement photos, and The New York Times goes deep on old mine diamonds like the rock found at the center of her new bling. Fair warning though- a “Touchdown Taylor” Garbage Pail Kids card will be significantly cheaper.

Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.