Latest news with #Topps
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Topps to replace Leo Messi autograph cards
An eight-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi is one of the most sought-after autographs in the world. (Credit: Getty Images) Topps will be replacing a number of ultra high-end cards signed by Lionel Messi following an internal investigation into their authenticity. According to a report by The Athletic, a 2022-23 Dynasty UEFA Champions League Messi Autograph that failed to be authenticated by grading company PSA prompted the potential replacement of cards signed by the soccer legend in the set. Advertisement 'Following our investigation, we will proceed with remakes of the Topps Dynasty Lionel Messi cards,' a Topps collector support senior manager wrote to the customer in an email reviewed by The Athletic. Including the Dynasty card, The Athletic reported PSA has now failed to authenticate Messi autographs from at least five Topps sets. Topps didn't immediately respond to cllct's request to confirm the company planned to remake Messi's Dynasty autographs. PSA didn't immediately respond to cllct's request for comment on the recent failure of a number of Messi autographs from Topps sets. One of Topps' most popular high-end products, cards from the Dynasty brand are often highly coveted on the secondary market due to the use of on-card autographs and game-used memorabilia. Advertisement To date, the highest sale for any Messi card from the 2022-23 Dynasty UEFA Champions League set is the $103,701 paid for a 1/1 at Goldin Auctions in September 2024. 'The signing of all Topps autograph cards is witnessed by Topps representatives to guarantee authenticity,' that card's reverse reads. 'The relics contained on this card are not from any specific match, event, or season.' According to data tool Card Ladder, there have been at least nine public sales of Messi autographs from the set that have topped $5,000 and three that have topped $10,000. Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
About that Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals ratings talk, plus a wild baseball/softball Sunday
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Win your regional today. We begin this morning with a narrative you'll hear parroted across all channels of sports media: This NBA Finals matchup is a TV ratings nightmare. Commissioner Adam Silver must be sick. All those rich executives crying poor about two mid-market teams playing in the league's biggest event on the calendar. But, as Mike Vorkunov wrote this morning, that's not accurate — not exactly. Two layers of this nuanced story I want to highlight: So, in reality, the league is simply hoping for a long series. Read Mike's story for plenty more depth there. Let's keep moving: The last time we talked about the Colorado Rockies, things were bleak. They were on pace to be worse than last year's White Sox, who lost 121 games. Things have only gotten worse for the Rockies since. Three stats to make your jaw twitch: We will continue with Rockies Watch until the numbers improve. Onward: Messi card drama deepens Back in March, The Athletic's Larry Holder wrote a story about some Lionel Messi-autographed cards failing authentication — and in the months since, multiple autographed cards via Topps have been refused authentication, our follow-up investigation found. Topps has yet to publicly acknowledge any of these issues but has informed buyers it will remake any autographed cards that fail authentication. Some of those cards are worth up to $100,000. Sheesh. Advertisement Royals promote Caglianone It was time, despite it being short: Jac Caglianone is heading to the big leagues after a sprint through Kansas City's farm system, where he mashed baseballs at every stop. Caglianone was the No. 6 pick in last year's draft and was playing for Florida at this time in 2024. In 50 minor-league games this year, he's hit .322 with a .982 OPS. Now the only question is: Can he play the outfield well enough? Scouting report here. Top 2 seeds done on wild baseball Sunday As mentioned above, the NCAA baseball tournament has emulated its basketball counterpart in every way this weekend, as both the Nos. 1 and 2 overall seeds — Vanderbilt and Texas — saw seasons end in their own regional yesterday. The Commodores earn the sad historical mark of being the first top overall seed to not even make a regional final. Five regional hosts got bounced, with four others facing elimination today — including my LSU Tigers. Gulp. More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. To the scientist, karma is a metaphysical creation of the mind, an emotional scheme to make us feel good about how the world works. On the softball field yesterday, though, we saw a beautifully karmic cause and effect. We can judge this by two images: That's UCLA's Megan Grant, whose two-run home run tied the Bruins' Women's College World Series matchup against Tennessee at 4-4 in the top of the seventh. When she crossed home, she overstepped the plate, and a teammate guided her back to step on it. According to the rule book, she should be out. And yet, due to an obscure rule, umpires determined the play was not reviewable. The illegal home run stood. So the Lady Vols, coached by the legendary Karen Weekly, turned around in the bottom of the ninth and did this: this is for your appendix g 📺 ABC — Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) June 1, 2025 Tennessee moves on to the semifinals, which take place today, to face Texas. 📺 WCWS: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Texas Tech 7 p.m. ET on ESPN This is an elimination game for the Sooners, winners of the last three national titles. The Red Raiders are led by maybe the most interesting player in college softball right now, NiJaree Canady, whose transfer to TTU in the offseason made a big splash. They'll play again at 9:30 p.m. if OU wins. Advertisement 📺 MLB: Mets at Dodgers 10:10 p.m. ET on MLB Network L.A. gets its second New York team in as many series against a team just as good as the Yankees. Tough sledding. The Dodgers did pick up two of three against the Yanks. Good TV. Get tickets to games like these here. I love these pieces, especially for a team as compelling as the Knicks: Go inside their historic season with James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz to see everything that went wrong just two wins shy of the finals. Make time for this today. More than 12,000 readers voted in our MLB All-Quarter Century Team poll. Today, Jayson Stark bravely asks: Who got it right — him or The People? Matthew Fairburn published an incredible deep dive into how the Buffalo Sabres have failed so spectacularly and, most importantly, who to blame. How new Bears coach Ben Johnson responded to getting fired by the Dolphins in 2019 helped lead to his rapid NFL rise, Adam Jahns writes. Our newest show, 'The Tennis Podcast,' is broadcasting every day from Roland Garros. Make sure to catch up here. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on 'Inside the NBA' signing off, for now. Most-read on the website yesterday: Bill Belichick's contract buyout changed yesterday. Matt Baker explained what that means. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Topps remaking more Lionel Messi autograph cards following its own ‘investigation'
Collectors are questioning who actually signed a growing number of Lionel Messi trading card autographs certified by Topps. Leading card grader Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) has now refused to grade Messi autograph cards across multiple Topps sets, including one of its most expensive soccer offerings. Advertisement The Athletic first reported on the issue in March. Since then, Messi cards with certified autographs in at least five of Topps' sets have not been authenticated by PSA. This includes at least one card from Topps' premier high-end set, Dynasty, where Messi cards can be worth anywhere from around $4,000 to $100,000. The Athletic obtained documentation from affected card owners to verify the cases. Topps declined interview requests related to this situation. A PSA spokesperson said they would check on a possible interview, but never responded after The Athletic followed up. A representative for Messi also did not respond to a request for comment. After PSA refused to authenticate the autograph on a Dynasty card (pictured above) pulled by David Rodriguez of Clarksville, Ind., a Topps collector support senior manager wrote in a March 28 email viewed by The Athletic: 'Following our investigation, we will proceed with remakes of the Topps Dynasty Lionel Messi cards.' The use of the plural 'cards' in Topps' message suggests the possibility that multiple Messi autographed cards in that Dynasty set could be remade. Topps produced 204 total Messi cards from the 2022-23 Dynasty cards set, all of which should feature autographs from the soccer star directly on the cards themselves. Remaking every Messi Dynasty card in the set could impact cards with a combined value nearing or eclipsing $1 million. The Messi Paris-Saint Germain patch autograph card — a card bearing an autograph and a piece of memorabilia — that was originally sent to Rodriguez from Topps 2022-23 Dynasty UEFA Champions League carried serial number 01/10, meaning it was the first out of 10 produced. The 02/10 card in the set sold for $4,642 at auction the next day. The set's one-of-a-kind (1/1) card sold for $13,420 on April 26, and another Messi one-of-one, an FC Barcelona card, from the set went for $103,701 in Sept. 2024. The quality and desirability of the patch often drives the price, which likely played a part in the six-figure price tag; that card included a piece of the Barcelona badge from a match-worn Messi shirt. Advertisement Topps has not publicly acknowledged the issue, outside of correspondence initiated by affected card owners. It appears the only way to determine if an autographed Messi card can be remade is to submit the card for grading, have PSA refuse to authenticate it, and then negotiate with PSA and Toops about the next steps. 'For a company like Topps, you would think they would do a little bit better,' Rodriguez said. 'It's just disappointing and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.' Mike Denis of Salem, N.H., ran into a similar issue in early May, when PSA wouldn't authenticate a Messi autograph on a 2024 Topps Finest MLS card. In that instance, a Topps representative pushed the blame to PSA. In the transcript of an online chat between Topps and Denis viewed by The Athletic, the card company's rep said, 'Recently Messi has changed the style of his autograph, which it seems PSA has not updated their standards.' Over the past few months, PSA has declined to authenticate Messi autograph cards from at least the following Topps sets: 2022-23 Topps Dynasty UEFA Champions League, 2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire MLS, 2024 Topps Chrome MLS, 2024 Topps Finest MLS, and 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks UEFA Champions League. So got one of the biggest pulls I've ever had from @Topps this beautiful messi auto. Sent it to @PSAcard, just was told they cant authenticate the autograph. How does this happen, thanks to psa for their diligence but these autos are supposed to topps witnessed? @CardPurchaser — Mike D (@mikeD922) May 9, 2025 Dan Jamieson, CEO of Icons, an England-based sports memorabilia company that has had a relationship with Messi dating back to his early days as a professional, told The Athletic in March that Messi sits with the Icons staff at least three times a year for autograph sessions. Jamieson said while he's not a handwriting expert, Messi's signature hasn't varied much through the years when signing for Icons. 'I think it (Messi's signature) has been pretty consistent,' Jamieson said. 'He gets a lot of practice with us. He's quite a consistent guy.' A post shared by 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 ✨ (@primecollectors_) As The Athletic previously reported, Nick Bruce of Ferndale, Mich. said a PSA representative told him in February that the autograph on his 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks UEFA Champions League Football's Finest card was 'fake,' and potentially signed by Messi's brother. PSA has since seemed to soften its stance when explaining to customers why it's not authenticating certain Messi autograph cards, telling multiple card owners, 'To be perfectly clear, our authentication team is not stating that the autograph is a forgery; they are simply not comfortable rendering an opinion on this particular signature style. In rare cases such as these where our team opts to refrain from issuing an opinion, PSA will return the item unprocessed at no charge to the customer.' Advertisement Then PSA offers 'an alternative path,' saying they have a 'positive, working relationship' with Topps and that the card company will 'sometimes issue replacement cards in unique circumstances.' Soccer Cards HQ's Scott Kaczmarek told The Athletic that the questionable autographs are bad for the soccer collector community: 'If they hit a Messi (autograph card) and try to get it graded and then it comes back fake or it's not authenticated, that's really bad for us.' ADOT just shared that PSA has refused to grade a Messi MLS on-card auto 😮 — Soccer Cards HQ (@SoccerCardsHQ) April 22, 2025 Rodriguez said he spent $1,200 at his local card shop on a box of 2022-23 Topps Dynasty UEFA Champions League, which contains just one card, in August 2024. He opened the box to find a redemption card — an 'IOU' where the owner submits the code to receive an autographed card from the manufacturer at a later date, once the athlete in question has signed — for a Messi patch autograph card. It was the most valuable card he's ever pulled from a pack or box, he said, and he immediately redeemed the card through the Topps website. After four months of waiting, Rodriguez said he spoke to someone from Topps who told him Messi would have a private signing for Dynasty cards and other Topps products. Rodriguez received the card in late January and sent it to PSA. In early February, the grading company alerted Rodriguez it couldn't authenticate the autograph and encouraged him to reach out to Topps. In early March, Topps offered a similar deal to Rodriguez as it had in late February to Bruce. The company would either remake the card with a new autograph to then be shipped to PSA for grading and authentication, or offer a substitution of equal or greater value. The timeframes for a possible remake varied significantly in the cases of Rodriguez and Bruce. Bruce's 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks Messi card sported an autograph on a sticker that was affixed to the card. Players often sign sheets of stickers totaling several thousand autographs in a given session, allowing card companies to place the autographed sticker on specific cards at a later date. But Messi would have to sign Rodriguez's card itself, since Dynasty bears on-card autographs. Advertisement Topps explained in an email to Rodriguez that this 'very lengthy' process could take anywhere from six months to two years. Rodriguez accepted Topps' alternative offer of a card or cards of equal or greater value, assuming the wait time for a Messi replacement would be closer to two years. Topps sent Rodriguez two autographed rookie cards: one of Lamine Yamal and the other of Shohei Ohtani. After grading, the two cards are worth an estimated $6,000, which is nearly $2,000 more than the last sale of the questioned Messi Dynasty card. Rodriguez said he'll keep Yamal, the 17-year-old FC Barcelona phenom, for his collection, but he's planning to sell the Ohtani to buy more Messi autographed cards 'that seem to be legit.' However, his confidence in Messi autographed cards has been shaken. 'I'm pretty worried, to be honest,' Rodriguez said. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Topps Launch New Collection Of 308 Stickers For UEFA Women's Euro 2025
COLOGNE, GERMANY - JUNE 15: Detailed view of the Topps and Euro 2024 logo during the UEFA EURO 2024 ... More group stage match between Hungary and Switzerland at Cologne Stadium on June 15, 2024 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) England legend Jill Scott has been revealed as a brand ambassador for the new official sticker collection of UEFA Women's Euro 2025, created for the first time by Topps. In her role as Topps ambassador, Scott, a winner with England at the previous UEFA Women's Euro in 2022, appeared at the Fanatics Collectibles store in Regent Street, London, to officially launch the collection, which is now available to buy across the United Kingdom. Founded in 1938, Topps made their name in tbe 1950s by placing baseball cards, featuring player statistics, in packs of chewing gum which fans were encouraged to trade. They entered the United Kingdom market in the 1970s but due to the popularity of stickers in Europe, they released sticker collections for the Premier League under their Merlin brand. In 2021, the Topps brand was acquired by Fanatics, a global digital platform with a database of over 100 million sports fans. Through the platform, supporters can purchase a wide range of sportswear, equipment and memorabilia. LONDON: Jill Scott with an official sticker album for UEFA Women's Euro 2025 In content filmed at the Fanatics Collectibles store, Scott filled out her own album sparking memories of collecting stickers herself as a child. She also picked out her dream 5-a-side team including current superstars Keira Walsh, Aitana Bonmatí and Ewa Pajor. The first sticker collection for a women's soccer tournament was created by Italian firm Panini for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Six years later. the first for a UEFA Women's Euro was released in 2017. Jill Scott was an England player whose sticker was featured in both original collections. SOLIHULL, ENGLAND - MAY 31: Volunteers hand out Panini sticker albums during the WSL 1 match ... More between Birmingham City Ladies and Yeovil Town Ladies FC on May 31, 2017 in Solihull, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall - The FA/The FA via Getty Images) In April 2022, ahead of the next Women's Euro, UEFA announced that they had signed a new six-year deal with Topps, ending a forty-two year partnership with Panini who first produced an official sticker album for the men's European Championship back in 1980. The partnership made Topps the new and official licensed partner from 2022 to 2028, providing exclusive stickers, trading cards and collectibles connected to UEFA. 'This is a milestone moment for Topps in our ongoing global expansion as we celebrate our first partnership with Euro in our 70+ year history," said David Leiner, the global general manager of The Topps Company. 'We're thrilled to be the official partner of one of the most esteemed sporting events in the world and we look forward to continuing our mission of bringing collectors and fans of all ages closer to their favorite athletes by providing official stickers, trading cards, collectibles and more, to football fans across the world.' Unfortunately for collectors, the stickers for some countries, like England, France and Germany, will not feature pictures of their players wearing their official national kits. This is because the English, French and German Football Association have their own contracts with Panini, who have launched their own official national team collections in those countries. Nevertheless, the Topps album features 308 stickers - 56 fewer than the official collection for UEFA Women's Euro 2022 - representing each of the 16 competing nations. The England, France and German players are pictured in plain shirts rather than their official national team kit. The campaign will also feature leading names from the women's football world, activating in multiple markets in the run up to the tournament. In addition there will be unique Euro Hotshot, Shining Stars and Euro Legend stickers featuring retired greats like Scott, Alex Popp and Birgit Prinz. 'What interested me in becoming a brand ambassador for Topps and the collection is seeing what they've created in the women's sticker album; the quality of it and how much they're putting into the women's game,' said Scott. 'I open the album and am immediately interested by the facts and learning about the players, there are a lot of players in there that I've played with and, having retired, I'm not as in the know with what's going on – so this is educating me as much as the next generation of fan.' Patrick Rausch, Chief Marketing Officer EMEA of Fanatics Collectibles added that 'Topps is synonymous with the biggest players and moments in football, and we're excited to continue that tradition with our new UEFA Women's Euro 2025 sticker collection.' For more information on the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 collection, visit
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Debuting UFC fighters to see change to fight gear
Starting at this weekend's UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Barber event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, fighters making their octagon debut will see a change to their Venom fight shorts. It was announced on Wednesday that fighters making their promotional debut will wear a "debut patch" on their fight gear. The move was made in partnership with Topps trading card company to create unique one-of-a-kind collectibles. "JUST IN: Debut Patches are coming to UFC," Topps wrote on social media. "UFC athletes will now wear a Debut Patch on their gear for their first fight. After the bout, the patch will go into a 1/1 signed trading card." Advertisement The fight promotion has an exclusive apparel deal with VENOM. The sports gear and apparel company provides in-octagon Fight Kits and Fight Week apparel to competing athletes. The partnership deal was signed in April 2021. Before the exclusive deal, VENOM sponsored over 200 UFC athletes between 2009 and 2015. The first fighter to display the "debut patch" of their fight gear will be Swedish middleweight Andreas "Bane" Gustafsson (11-2) on the preliminary fight card. Gustaffson earned a spot in the UFC by knocking out Pat Pytlik on Dana White's Contender Series last August. He takes on UFC veteran Trevin Giles (16-7). The 34-year-old Gustafsson will make his debut riding a three-fight winning streak. His only two career losses were by majority decision and split decision. Giles will make the walk to the octagon going the opposite direction. He's lost his last three fights and is in desperate need of a win. UFC on ESPN 68 is headlined by a women's flyweight clash between No. 4 ranked Erin Blanchfield and No. 5 ranked Maycee Barber. The two were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 269 in December 2021, but Barber withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.
