Latest news with #Bowman1st
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Shedeur Sanders Trading Card Market
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - APRIL 26: A screen shows Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders' name after being selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick during the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft on April 26, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by) We're buying Shedeur Sanders cards, right? I know… I've been pretty consistent here with my lower-priced non-sports cards, but come on, people! The only threat to Sheduer Sanders not having a big pro career was him not getting drafted and then spending a year in the CFL or WWE. He's on a team. He can win the starting job. Advertisement Some of the smartest draft minds – and forget about Mel Kiper Jr. over the three-day draft; he was right, but they spent so much time on it that it became a cartoon – had Sanders as one of the Top 2 QBs. Consensus. Everywhere. He put up crazy numbers in college, scouts praised him, he had all the right attributes. And then he slid. And his card prices kind of slid with him. And after he was drafted? They went back up a little bit, but not to where they should be. People have jumped on the 'Shedeur is bad' bandwagon hard – silly, foolish, airheaded Twitter people. But not us. If Shedeur wins the job, or finally starts in Week 5, or even starts in 2026? He is putting up NUMBERS. And after two 350 yard games, his cards will skyrocket. And everyone will race to delete tweets and revise history. And we'll be holding his cards from way back in 2025 when nobody believed in him. Advertisement There is a mini-problem, however. We live in a world where Bowman U cards still don't stand on solid ground. I think they're great – I've been a baseball card collector forever and I know the value of that Bowman 1st. I think in 15 years we'll be looking back on the football/hoops versions and wishing we bought more, because they are the first cards of some legendary players. And with NFL cards a little fractured for now, and NIL deals letting someone sign almost anywhere, you need that one lighthouse in a sea of fog. I think that's Bowman U. Maybe we just don't realize it at the moment. My search the last few days has been ' Shedeur Sanders Bowman auto ' and then sort by lowest price. These are $200 cards going for $75-80. I then pop over the PSA 10 Sanders searches (and very importantly '-now' to get rid of the Topps Now graded cards), and see what's out there. I'll do the usual hearting for the watchlist and see if I get a 20% off offer. I did not anticipate having a Shedeur Sanders budget this month for my cards. After he didn't get picked on Friday, I also dropped an unanticipated $20 on him to be voted OROY at 30-1 odds (they dropped to 15-1 after he was picked). These things happen, though. Shedeur Sanders budgets are what make this so much fun. I could be wrong. 30 draft analysts and scouts could also be wrong. The Browns could be wrong. Advertisement But I don't think so. I've made larger mistakes in my card-buying career, but in football, the name of the game is Quarterback. And if you can find one with a giant market dip like Sanders right now? Get something better than a common card, get it in good condition, and the high will be much higher than if you go timid with just a regular Chrome 1st. On the flip side of Sanders is Cam Skattebo. There's some rise left in his cards, but not much. RB cards don't hold especially well and the Giants have Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary on the roster. Skattebo isn't beating Tracy out for the job – Tracy was drafted by this same regime and had a great rookie season. So, at best, maybe Skattebo splits time and has a couple 8/80 games with a big run or two. That lack of playing time will sink a card fast. But he has hype right now, and so if you happened upon a Skattebo autographed card before, now is probably the time to sell. It feels good – big market, rabid Sun Devils fanbase, white guy RB – but by November he will likely be splitting time, at best. Advertisement $20 for a PSA 10? Fine. $20 for a PSA 9 ? No thank you. Here's the Skattebo Twist (also the name of a weird sex move I cannot get into here) – when they sink in November? I'd buy them up again. There's a future there, it's just buying at the right time. Now is not it. It's time for our 'fast food' portion of Mail Day. You know you love it. A quick update on the Wendy's toys we mentioned two weeks ago — I have been pretending to have an extra kid to get a kids meal for myself. The toys are cool and probably one of the better cost propositions you can get in a kids meal – you get three in a box AND little mini cards explaining who they are (there are some obscure DC characters in there). I don't quite have the enthusiasm of this guy reviewing them, but I have suggested we 'go to Wendy's' more often than I ever have in the past. You may be asking – 'What's the end game here, Fickle?' Guess what – they're just cool looking and colorful and I can put them on my shelf – my kids' shelves! Advertisement I will not be paying $70 for a set . That's Shedeur Sanders money! One more fast food hit. Remember a few weeks ago when Suni Lee was at a Knicks game and OG Anunoby coincidentally had a crazy game? Here's a refresher! This, of course, isn't about Anunoby cards – it's about Suni Lee stickers! Because Suni Lee doesn't have any cards – not even SI For Kids! But she does have a sticker that was only available in McDonald's Happy Meals . It sells for about $5 and you can get the foil version for $15 maybe? And as silly as it may seem, I'm kind of into it. Suni Lee courtside at Knicks games could just be a harbinger of Suni Lee all over the place. She has 3.4 million Instagram followers, she's in a Dick's commercial, she's really good at gymnastics, she was already on Dancing With the Stars. If Simone Biles is out of the 2028 Olympics, Suni Lee is your household name in a marquee event in her own country. Entire sides of buildings will be covered by her picture. Advertisement Spend the $5 now. Maybe even spend the $15 now. Get the sticker graded. Put it in a little box with your new Shedeur cards, and bury it under a big oak tree at the north end of a long rock wall. Open it up in May 2028 and prepare to sell. We're buying SI For Kids cards – is it that big of a stretch to think a market could be created for a sticker from a Happy Meal? Especially one made by the biggest sticker company? That wraps it up for me this week! I hope this was helpful, and some day maybe I'll start a sub-newsletter of all the things Mantel's CEO made us edit out of this one. There's enough for at least one edition! (Although JR Fickle likes to work blue). Until then… good luck! Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Cooper Flagg trading cards explained: What's available, his most valuable, and where to find them
Duke star Cooper Flagg doesn't have many trading cards on the market yet, but the ones that are available are definitely selling. As of Thursday, 131 Flagg cards have sold for at least $1,000 and 23 have sold for at least $3,000, according to Card Ladder, which tracks trading card sales across various marketplaces. Advertisement Since the 2024 NBA Draft class has failed to inspire collectors, interest has turned to Flagg. But the trading card landscape for a college freshman isn't always as straight forward as it is for an NBA rookie. So let's break down where the Flagg card market currently stands. The Flagg cards primarily circulating right now come from two sources: 2024-25 Bowman U Now, which are print-to-order cards made by Topps to commemorate notable moments in sports. His 2024-25 Bowman U Now #1 ungraded card sits No. 8 on the most sold basketball cards in the last 30 days, according to Market Movers. It has the highest print run (32,526) of all his Bowman U Now cards made to date. 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald's All American, a set featuring high school players named to the all-star game's roster. It features his first pack-pulled autographed cards. Topps announced Thursday it will also print Bowman U Now cards during the men's and women's tournaments to highlight important moments, which will likely include Flagg. The card company also released a Bowman U Now March Madness set, which will include a checklist of 16 top men's and women's players, with packs being sold through its website until April 4. The biggest chase cards will feature dual autos from Flagg and USC's JuJu Watkins, who like Flagg is also an exclusive signer for Fanatics, which owns Topps. The first traditional set (with cards that come in a pack) to feature Flagg in a Duke jersey will be 2025 Bowman University Chrome, which will be released April 3, according to Beckett. This set will include Flagg's Bowman 1st cards, which will be some of his most coveted college cards. Despite the limited number of cards in generally less desirable formats, Flagg's cards have sold well into four figures in February and March. Three of Flagg's top selling cards have occurred since March (all eBay sales). Here's the top five: The 2025 Bowman University Chrome set will likely bring Flagg's most valuable cards once it's released. It will possess Flagg's Bowman 1st autographed cards, which will likely be some of his most valuable until he hits the NBA. For example, Caitlin Clark's 2022 Bowman University Superfractor one-of-one autographed card sold for $78,000 in January 2024. It was the highest sale for one of her cards to that point, and held that title until her WNBA cards started coming out later in the year. Flagg signed an exclusive multi-year contract with Fanatics/Topps, meaning his autographs will only appear on Topps or Bowman basketball cards. This will lead to less confusion of where to find autographed Flagg cards than with Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama has an exclusive signing contract with Fanatics, but since rival card manufacturer Panini currently holds the NBA trading card license, his autographs reside only on Topps' unlicensed products. These are cards with no logos or team names. Advertisement But the NBA license is soon changing hands. Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan said on 'The Geoff Wilson Show' on YouTube earlier this month that Topps' licensed NBA products will begin to roll out in early October. Flagg, if he leaves Duke after this year's NCAA Tournament, will likely be the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft. This means he'd easily be the most attractive player for collectors to track down in next year's NBA trading card products. So given the timing, Flagg's official NBA rookie autographed cards will appear only in Topps products this fall. Mahan specifically said Flagg will be featured within those products if the Duke star opts to enter the 2025 NBA Draft. Most notably, Mahan said the expectation for NBA Debut Patch autograph rookie cards will also appear in one of their products, in the same way the MLB Debut Patch cards have come out of a Topps product the past two years. The hope will certainly be for a Flagg NBA Debut Patch card to draw a similar amount of attention as the Paul Skenes version, which sold for $1.11 million in a Fanatics Collect auction Thursday night. In The Athletic's latest 2025 NBA mock draft, colleague Sam Vecenie tabbed Flagg as the No. 1 pick and described him like this: 'From New Year's Eve onward over 19 games, Flagg averaged 21.4 points, seven rebounds, five assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks and shot 54.2 percent from the field, 45.7 percent from 3 and 87.4 percent from the line. Whereas Zion Williamson was a dominant wrecking ball for whom college players had no answer, Flagg is more methodical and well-rounded in his dominance. He gets to his spots with ease. He's an elite transition player as well as a versatile half-court force who can play on or off the ball and attack mismatches both big and small. Advertisement 'Coming into the year, the jumper was a question. It no longer is after he shot 37 percent from 3 and 83 percent from the line as an 18-year-old. He can get to pull-ups from all three levels and finishes at the rim with serious bounce and polish. Defensively, he's a tremendous playmaker and flies around all over the place in help. More than anything, what stands out is his elite level of competitiveness. There is not a second in which he's on the court that he's not playing hard or totally locked into what he's doing.' The Duke forward injured his ankle during the ACC Tournament, but he's set to play in the Blue Devils' first round matchup against Mount St. Mary on Friday. An extended run in the NCAA Tournament would be a significant driver for an ongoing Flagg market, especially if Duke advances to the Final Four. And that momentum would carry right into the release of his Bowman 1st cards two days before college basketball's premier event. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission. (Top image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images; Card image: Topps)
New York Times
30-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Top 100 MLB prospects 2025: The baseball card market for Keith Law's rankings
Welcome to your list of hopes and dreams, Bowman 1st baseball card fans. The Athletic's Keith Law released his annual top 100 MLB prospects heading into the 2025 season earlier this week. I'd recommend marking this time of year on your calendar and celebrate my colleague's in-depth coverage of all things Bowman 1st cards — I mean minor league prospects. Advertisement Law left the cards part of the research project in my hands, luckily. Below is a look at the current pricing for key players' Bowman 1st autographed base cards with a PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) 10 grade. A player's Bowman 1st autographed card appears in either Bowman Draft, Bowman Baseball, Bowman Chrome or Bowman Sapphire. For example, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes headlined the 2023 Bowman Draft release, while the product makers dropped Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews in the traditional 2023 Bowman set. There are exceptions, though, like with Law's No. 2 prospect this year. I dove into the top 10 players on the list, as well as some other notable prospects, meaning I'm bound to miss one or two in this outlook since it's not easy projecting minor league prospects. (Last four sales as of Jan. 27, via Card Ladder) GO DEEPER Top 100 MLB prospects 2025: Keith Law's rankings, with Roman Anthony at No. 1 1. Roman Anthony 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $481.25 The Boston Red Sox outfielder joined the No. 1 spot fraternity that included the following players in the past couple of years: Jackson Holliday, Corbin Carroll, Adley Rutschman, Wander Franco (twice). Obviously some of those players have panned out more than others. There's no denying the level of Anthony interest within the hobby. Three parallels of Bowman 1st auto cards have sold for at least $10,000. The most expensive sale occurred Sept. 5, 2024 at $62,000 for his Beckett 9.5 graded one-of-one Superfractor (defined by Topps as 'the rarest type of refractor card. Superfractors are short-printed, one-of-one cards, which means that for any given card, there will be only one superfractor of that card in the entire product'). 2. Sebastian Walcott 2024 Bowman base auto PSA 10*: $165.63 Jackson Chourio, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr. are the last three players to hold the No. 2 spot in these rankings. Why would you not collect Walcott considering his price point? Walcott is the odd exception with no autographed Bowman 1st cards. His 'Bowman 1st' came in the 2023 Bowman Chrome set, which likely affects the card values because collectors tend to gravitate to the autographed card with '1st' in the top corner. Five parallels of the 2024 autographed card have sold for at least $3,000 with the most expensive being a Red auto numbered to five with a PSA 10 grade selling for $9,500 on Sept. 13, 2024. Advertisement 3. Samuel Basallo 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $195.38 Catchers tend to hover atop Law's list each year, and this is another Baltimore Orioles catcher following Rutschman's footsteps. Fourteen sales of variations sold for at least $3,000, with five of those for at least $5,000. The catcher's most expensive sale happened this year (Jan. 10) with his red auto, numbered to just five copies, with a PSA 9 grade going for $9,000. 4. Walker Jenkins 2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $278.75 The Minnesota Twins outfield prospect jumped from No. 15 last year to No. 4 this year. Collectors have been in on Jenkins from the jump. Thirteen sales of variations of this base auto went for at least $5,000. Walker's one-of-one Superfractor hit a price tag of $44,286 on June 29, 2024. 5. Colt Emerson 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $231.33 Another healthy prospect launch includes the Seattle Mariners' Emerson (No. 37 last year). His Bowman 1st Sapphire auto cards have been the biggest ticket items, ranking Nos. 1-3 on his highest sales list. The red auto card numbered to five in a PSA 10 grade sold for $5,000 on June 18, 2024. 6. Max Clark 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $432 Clark leads in the cards arms race among Dylan Crews and Wyatt Langford ($373.75 latest comp) since Crews, Clark and Langford were drafted Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, in the 2023 MLB Draft. Nine of Clark's cards — total, not Bowman 1st autos — have sold for at least $5,000. In a similar pattern, though, Clark's Bowman 1st red auto numbered to five and ungraded went for $8,000 on Dec. 15, 2023. 7. Dylan Crews 2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $382.26 The big chase in the 2024 Bowman set, 17 of his cards have sold for at least $5,000 — either coming on his Bowman 1st auto parallels or dual autos with his LSU buddy Skenes. Crews' most expensive card is his Bowman 1st red auto card in a PSA 9 grade, which sold for $12,655 on June 30, 2024. Advertisement 8. Carson Williams 2021 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $168.75 Law describes the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop prospect as the most enigmatic player in the minors. The price tag for his cards among his peers in this top 10 group exemplifies his point. Williams' top sale was a Bowman 1st orange auto (numbered to 75) with a PSA 10 grade went for $4,457 on April 29, 2022. 9. Kristian Campbell 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $357.78 Talk about 'stock up' for the Red Sox second baseman/outfielder! The previous four sales for this base auto card before Jan. 16 averaged only $211.88. Campbell's most expensive so far is his 1st Bowman Gold auto (numbered to 50) with a PSA 10 grade, which sold for $4,000 on Jan. 15. 10. Jordan Lawlar 2021 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $156.18 Prices have expectedly dropped with so much hype and not as much to show for it with the Arizona Diamondbacks infielder. His cards surged in 2022 with highest-priced cards Nos. 2-10 occurring in that year on parallels of his Bowman 1st auto. His top card sale happened Sept. 14, 2023 when a sparkle refractor (numbered to 71) in a PSA 10 grade went for $57,709. GO DEEPER MLB prospects who just missed Keith Law's top 100 ranking: Caissie, Saggese and more 14. Matt Shaw 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $226.25 The Shaw train took a recent boost with his highest sale happening less than two weeks ago ($3,500 on Jan. 21 — Sapphire red auto numbered to five in a PSA 10 grade). Maybe a sign to come with the Chicago Cubs infielder on the brink of cracking the team's starting lineup at third base. 17. Ethan Salas 2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $191 A drop from No. 3 on the 2024 list might be cause for concern in the market for the San Diego Padres' catcher prospect. People bought in last year though, with 14 card sales going north of $5,100, two of which sold for five figures. His Bowman 1st Superfractor auto with PSA 8 (card quality) and 10 (auto quality) grades went for $36,600 on Dec. 30, 2023. 22. Jasson Dominguez 2020 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $699.75 In Feb. 2022, Dominguez's Bowman 1st Superfractor auto with a PSA 10 grade sold for $474,000. For perspective, Aaron Judge's highest card sale occurred three months later. It went for $150,000 less than the Dominguez card. Let that sink in … For Dominguez's cards to stay anywhere near these prices, he might need to be Judge, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle combined and soon. Advertisement 25. Travis Bazzana 2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $534.49 Bazzana and the Kansas City Royals' Jac Caglianone headline the 2024 Bowman Draft set, in the same vein as Skenes and Langford. The Cleveland Guardians infielder's graded cards are still limited since the 2024 Bowman Draft release came in December. His path to the Majors seems like it could take shape this season for the 2024 No. 1 pick. Given the lack of top flight prospects from the 2023 draft, Bazzana's market should stay high for a while. 28. Marcelo Mayer 2021 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $283.15 Like Lawlar, collectors probably feel like they've been waiting forever for the Red Sox infield prospect to stay healthy. He has plenty of history, with 16 card sales of at least $10,000. Mayer's most expensive sale came on his Bowman 1st one-of-one Superfractor auto with a PSA 9 (card quality) and 10 (auto quality) for $132,000 on March 13, 2022. 31. Leodalis De Vries 2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $254.38 We might be waiting for the Padres shortstop prospect for a little while given he played in the minors last year as a 17 year old. Prospectors are bullish on De Vries, though. Seven of his card sales went north of $5,000. De Vries' Bowman 1st red wave auto card (numbered to five) with a PSA 10 grade sold for $12,500 on Nov. 30, 2024. 60. Jac Caglianone 2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10 (only two sold): $583.35 He's 35 spots lower than Bazzana, but currently carries higher card price comparisons. This could easily fluctuate as we near spring training and yet the hype doesn't seem to be slowing down for the Royals first baseman. Already there's been 12 card sales of at least $6,000 and three reaching five figures. His Bowman 1st Sapphire red auto card (numbered to five) ungraded sold for $15,000 on Jan. 19. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission. (Top photo of Roman Anthony: WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK; card images: eBay)
