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A Shohei Ohtani card sold for $11 million, grading activity hit a record high and collectors flocked to the trading card industry’s two biggest events just days apart as the hobby finished its busiest month of the year in July.

July’s secondary market was highlighted by the record sum paid for what some believe is the greatest Ohtani card ever created. Third-party authenticators again graded a record number of cards in July as more collectors than ever continue to pay for what has become a near-essential service for those seeking maximum monetary value of their cards. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 fans and collectors attended Fanatics Fest in New York City to meet star athletes, celebrities and attended what has become a top trading card show. Just days later, more than 125,000 hobbyists flooded the 46th annual National Sports Collectors Convention for five days in Rosemont, Ill.

Here’s a breakdown of the sports card market during July.

Top sports card sales in July

1. 2026 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani Dual Gold Logoman 1/1: $11 million
2. 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson PSA 1/DNA 8: $1.86 million
3. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 8: $1.55 million
4. 2024 Panini Revolution Victor Wembanyama Vertical Green Kaboom 1/1 PSA 9: $1.44 million
5. 1958 Alifabolaget Pele PSA 9: $1.17 million

Source: Card Ladder (July 1 to July 31)

July’s headlining transaction is the $11 million private deal struck between Secure Collectibles, the high-end trading card investment firm backed by entrepreneurs Kevin O’Leary, Paul Warshaw and well-known collector Matthew Allen, for the 2026 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani Dual Gold Logoman 1/1. Pulled by an unidentified collector in Boca Raton, Fla., the card features patches worn by Ohtani during his 2024 and 2025 MVP seasons as well as both his standard and Kanji signatures.

Considered one of the most significant ultra-modern cards created to date, the Ohtani dual gold Logoman received a flurry of high-dollar bounties, including an initial $6.5 million offer from Secure and later a $10 million offer from a Hong Kong-based trading card venture. Though the card didn’t reach public auction, the result is still the third-highest known sale for a sports card, according to card pricing tracker Card Ladder’s records, and the fourth-most for a trading card of any kind. The sports card record-holding Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant Dual Logoman Autograph 1/1, which sold for $12.9 million last year, is also owned by Secure.

Best-selling athletes in July: It’s still a Michael Jordan hobby

1. Michael Jordan (46.7k)
2. Shohei Ohtani (16.1k)
3. Cooper Flagg (15.9k)
4. Victor Wembanyama (15.6k)
T5. Jaxson Dart (11.4k)
T5. LeBron James (11.4k)

Source: Market Movers

It can be easy to forget how strong of a hold Jordan still has on the hobby. Sure, sports card darlings like Ohtani, Cooper Flagg or Victor Wembanyama can have surges in interest that match or top Jordan’s transaction volume for a short period of time, but Jordan’s popularity remains constant. The key thing to know about Jordan’s market is how popular many of his non-rookie cards are and how affordable they can be in ungraded condition — his best-selling card tracked by pricing database Market Movers over the last 30 days has been his 1990 Fleer #26, with nearly 900 total sales and an average price of less than $10. Another popular seller has been his 1991 Upper Deck #SP1, which is notable for featuring Jordan with the Chicago White Sox before he would go on to play for the organization during his first retirement from basketball. Market Movers tracked more than 600 sales for raw copies of that card in July with an average price of, fittingly, $23. The desire for these cards is rooted in pure nostalgia.

Notable rises in value: Free agency drives LeBron James market

1. LeBron James (+11.4 percent)
2. Kobe Bryant (+6.8 percent)
3. Shohei Ohtani (+4.3 percent)
4. Michael Jordan (+3.8 percent)
5. Dylan Harper (+2.2 percent)

Source: Market Movers (minimum 5,000 sales)

LeBron James has likely entered the final chapter of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers and hobbyists appear to be making his key rookie cards a priority. James’ flagship 2003 Topps #221 base PSA 10 has always been popular and jumped up 34 percent in price in July to more than $8,000. That isn’t quite as high as it got during the pandemic collecting boom five years ago, but it’s trending back to that price point fast. Even PSA 9 examples of that card — there are more than 9,000 in existence — rose by nearly 40 percent to over $1,800. Based on recent sales, hobbyists looking to get into that card for less than $500 will have to target a PSA 5 or lower.

James’ 2003 Topps Chrome #111 base rookie, which has become one of the most significant rookie cards of the modern era, also went through a significant run-up in price. PSA 10 sales rose about 20 percent in July to top $18,000. Even mid-grade examples are likely out of reach for most hobbyists, with PSA 6 examples trending over $1,000.

It’s far from a rookie, but one notable card to arrive in July was the Topps Now issue celebrating/announcing James signing with the Sixers. Created through Topps’ print-to-order program, a total of 211,627 copies of the card were bought during its limited release window, making it the fifth-most popular card ever from the Topps Now series across all sports.

Going down: 2025 NFL Draft trending down

1. Lamine Yamal (-15.8 percent)
2. Munetaka Murakami (-14.8 percent)
3. Jacob Misiorowski (-11.7 percent)
4. Ashton Jeanty (-5.4 percent)
5. Cam Ward (-5.0 percent)

Source: Market Movers (minimum 5,000 sales)

As we’ve covered in this space before, the 2025 NFL Draft appears to be one of the weaker groups in recent memory from a collectibles standpoint. Top pick Cam Ward hasn’t garnered as much interest as you’d expect for a quarterback taken No. 1 overall and his market is trending down at a time when many collectors are buying the players they expect to perform well in the upcoming season. Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty also had an underwhelming rookie season and is trending down. Hobbyists looking for a silver lining may believe Jeanty benefits from Las Vegas adding No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza — though it’s possible hobby focus simply shifts to him instead. Ward could benefit from Tennessee adding receiver Carnell Tate with the fourth overall pick in 2026, but he’s still well behind Jaxson Dart as the most collectible signal-caller in the class until on-field results change.

Best-selling cards: Key Murakami rookies stay popular

1. 2026 Bowman Jacob Misiorowski Sterling #BST-13 (1.1k)
2. 2025 Topps Cooper Flagg Base #201 (1.0k)
3. 2026 Topps Munetaka Murakami #503 Base (960)
4. 2026 Bowman Mega Box Chrome Munetaka Murakami #9 (880)
5. 1990 Fleer Michael Jordan #26 (870)

Source: Market Movers

Munetaka Murakami missed 35 games with a hamstring strain but two of his key rookies are among the most transacted cards in the hobby. His flagship 2026 Topps #503 will likely remain in this space as long as raw copies can be had at the current price point of about $3. The Bowman Mega Box Chrome #9 could be a key card with upside moving forward due to a more limited print run. We’re already seeing profit opportunity take shape with raw examples trending around just $10 over the last month while the two PSA 10 sales have gone for $365 and $380. Normally those prices might regress as more copies are graded, but PSA halting value tier services indefinitely should significantly slow these cards reaching the secondary market.

Grading recap: Grading activity hits another record high

1. PSA (662k sports cards; 2.49 million total)
2. CGC (163k sports cards; 857k total)
3. Beckett (42k sports cards; 161k total)
4. TAG (4k sports cards; 57k total)
5. SGC (41 k sports cards; 44k total)

Source: GemRate (July 1 to July 31)

Overall grading activity hit another record high in July to top more than 3.61 million total cards, according to grading tracker GemRate. PSA (49 percent), CGC (115 percent) and Beckett (115 percent) have all significantly increased grading output year over year. CGC, Beckett and TAG had record months. Of the major authenticators, SGC’s grading output remains the most concerning — now under the umbrella of PSA’s parent company Collectors, SGC has scaled down operations with July’s total down 71 percent year over year.

PSA’s 2.49 million graded cards in July is slightly down from a record 2.50 million in June. Don’t be surprised if that figure remains relatively steady in the coming months with the company grading volume likely near capacity. Value service tiers remain paused as the company works to cut into a backlog that reached more than 14 million in early June. The most recent update from PSA reports the backlog has increased in recent weeks to 12.4 million after being trimmed down to 11 million. According to PSA, the increase has been caused by submissions at higher service tiers, a wave of orders still coming in from when service pauses were first announced and a general rise in grading interest during convention season.

PSA also reported in July that its newest Plano, Texas, grading facility is now fully operational and should help cut into the company’s backlog. Meanwhile, Beckett announced on Aug. 5 that it is pausing base and standard grading tiers until around Sept. 15 due to the influx of submissions it has received.

World Cup impact

The 2026 World Cup added fuel to the growing soccer card world, bringing in new collectors and boosting interest in a group of key players who stood out during the tournament. At both Fanatics Fest and the National, there were easily more soccer cards featured than ever before. However, when you compare the total card sales of the best-selling World Cup players to the overall top five across all sports above, you can see how far soccer cards still have to climb before demand matches that of the top baseball, basketball and football stars.

Best selling World Cup players in July

1. Lamine Yamal: 6.0k sales
2. Lionel Messi: 5.0k sales
3. Kylian Mbappe: 3.1k sales
4. Erling Haaland: 2.7k sales
5. Cristiano Ronaldo: 2.7k sales

Outside of the top five, England Jude Bellingham also saw a notable spike in card sales, as did the USMNT’s Folarin Balogun. The big question now is whether heightened demand and prices can be maintained going forward. The imminent start of the European club season should help sustain interest and maybe entice newcomers who fell in love with the World Cup.

So far Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland’s prices have held relatively strong since the end of the tournament, while Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have seen more significant dips, though their prices remain much higher than they were a year ago.

Perhaps the player who took the biggest card price hit during the World Cup was USMNT star Christian Pulisic, though. His injuries, forgettable performances, and regrettable quotes combined to pour cold water on what was supposed to be his big moment. Now 27 and looking like he’s settled into a very good, but not “LeBron James of soccer” level career, that decline in card value and interest seems likely to continue.

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