It was another milestone year for the still-growing sports card world, as collectors in 2025 sharpened their interests in all-time greats such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and Shohei Ohtani. However, it was also a year of unfulfilled potential as injuries to Caitlin Clark and Jayden Daniels derailed the momentum and excitement they built in their rookie campaigns.

Altogether, 2025 was filled with new records and developing trends that could shape what we see in 2026 and beyond. Let’s take a look back at some of the most significant data points for the year that was.

Jordan stands apart from all other athletes

All you need to do is look at eBay’s 10 most searched collectibles terms from January through October to see that Jordan is currently the undisputed king of sports cards:

1. Pokémon
2. Pokémon cards
3. Lego
4. PSA 10
5. PSA
6. Lego Star Wars
7. Hot Wheels
8. Pokémon PSA 10
9. Michael Jordan
10. Football cards

The first thing that jumps out from that list is definitely that Pokémon has grown to absolutely dominate the collectibles market, as has PSA’s (Professional Sports Authenticator) grading service. Pokémon cards are now bigger than sports cards, with wider appeal than any one sport and a multi-generational collector base. However, what also stands out is that Jordan is the only athlete on it, even though he hasn’t played in over two decades. On the surface, that might seem strange, but in collectibles terms, it makes sense. Jordan played long enough ago that the kids who idolized him are now old enough to feel nostalgic and have the income to put toward the cards of their childhood hero. The same dynamic drove up the value of Mickey Mantle cards for a previous generation of collectors.

The only other sports representation on the list is “football cards,” which probably illustrates both the popularity of NFL cards and the rise of soccer (“football” to much of the planet) cards ahead of a World Cup year.

PSA, and particularly the top grade of PSA 10, being so heavily searched on eBay is particularly notable, though. It shows why PSA 10 graded cards command such a premium over top grades from other companies and how so many people in the space prioritize top condition and value when searching for cards. Another fascinating trend is that searches for “hobby boxes,” with their higher price points and guaranteed hits, were six times greater than “blaster boxes,” which are cheaper and include fewer cards, in November, according to eBay.

Here are the top five player searches by league:

NBA

1. Michael Jordan
2. Victor Wembanyama
3. Kobe Bryant
4. LeBron James
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

NFL

1. Jayden Daniels
2. JJ McCarthy
3. Caleb Williams
4. Bo Nix
5. Drake Maye

MLB

1. Shohei Ohtani
2. Ken Griffey Jr.
3. Mickey Mantle
4. Paul Skenes
5. Elly De La Cruz

NHL

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Connor Bedard
3. Sidney Crosby
4. Patrick Roy
5. Mario Lemieux

WNBA

1. Caitlin Clark
2. Paige Bueckers
3. Cameron Brink
4. Sophie Cunningham
5. Sabrina Ionescu

These lists don’t reflect recent risers such as NBA rookie Kon Knueppel, who jumped 650 percent in searches from October to November, or quarterback Matthew Stafford, who rose 410 percent from September to November as his NFL MVP likelihood increased. On most of these lists, you’ll see a mix of all-time greats along with rising talents. The NFL list shows how uniquely focused football collectors are on speculation around one position, while the WNBA list probably shows the effects of the rapid influx of card buyers who may not necessarily be fans of the league. It’s absurd that four-time MVP and three-time WNBA champion A’ja Wilson isn’t on that list. She might be the most undervalued athlete in sports cards today.

Top athlete searches by country (across eBay’s geo-specific URLs):

USA: Michael Jordan — You should’ve been able to guess this one by now!

United Kingdom: Lewis Hamilton — This reflects the rapid growth in Formula 1 card interest over the last few years and Hamilton’s standing as an all-time great. Still, it’s surprising that the most popular in the UK wasn’t a footballer.

Canada: Connor Bedard — Gretzky became a controversial figure within Canada over the last year, so perhaps Canadian collectors are looking to someone new.

Germany: Michael Schumacher — Fits a similar mold to Jordan as someone who was idolized in the ’90s (and early 2000s).

France: Victor Wembanyama — Again, it’s somewhat surprising this wasn’t a young soccer star like Kylian Mbappe, but Wembymania has clearly reached another level.

eBay also highlighted a data point that shows the significant growth in a few emerging sports card categories since the pandemic boom five years ago. Four resale value surges based on average sales price of trading cards sold in 2025 vs. 2020:

1. WNBA: +130 percent
2. WWE: +125 percent (back in January we asked if this year would bring the rise of WWE cards, and the answer appears to be “yes”)
3. NHL: +40 percent
4. F1: +35 percent

In its own report, live-selling platform Whatnot said it expects this WNBA card market growth to continue, projecting the league to be one of 2026’s strongest categories after growing three times faster than NBA cards in 2025.

Daniels dominates the grading space

PSA’s data for 2025 reinforces a lot of what shows up in the eBay numbers, but also reflects how grading trends for a given year tend to be dominated by emerging talents with an influx of new cards as opposed to legends who have older cards that have been submitted for grading for years.

With that in mind, Daniels having more cards graded than Jordan makes sense, but Jordan being the athlete with the second-most graded cards in 2025 is pretty astounding. Here’s the full top 10:

1. Jayden Daniels (NFL): 236.1k cards graded
2. Michael Jordan (NBA): 206k 
3. Shohei Ohtani (MLB): 165.4k
4. Caitlin Clark (WNBA): 136.7k
5. Bo Nix (NFL): 115.2k
6. Victor Wembanyama (NBA): 110.2k
7. Caleb Williams (NFL): 99.1k
8. Drake Maye (NFL): 94.2k
9. Paul Skenes (MLB): 91.7k
10. JJ McCarthy (NFL): 89.4k

Clark being the top active basketball player ahead of Wembanyama is noteworthy. PSA said three of the 10 most graded cards this year were of Clark, more than any other athlete (that list wasn’t provided, but Clark’s three most graded cards to date according to GemRate, which tracks card sales and grading popultions, are her 2024 Panini Instant WNBA Draft Night, 2024 Panini Instant WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2022 Bowman Chrome University base cards).

Daniels had the most graded card of the year — his 2024 Panini Prizm #347 card — and Ohtani was far and away the baseball player with the most cards graded in 2025.

Where the big money went

Morgan Stanley estimates the global collectibles market to now be at $100 billion, with an annual growth rate of +6 percent from 2024-2027, according to CNBC. So where is all that money going?

There were at least 25 publicly known sales of sports cards for more than $1 million, including a new all-time record sale at the top of the list. Here are the top five sales for the year:

• $12.9 million: 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant dual NBA Logoman patch autographed one-of-one card, PSA 6 grade (Aug. 23 via auction at Heritage)

• $10 million: 2006-07 Upper Deck Exquisite Michael Jordan/LeBron James dual NBA Logoman patch autographed one-of-one card, ungraded (Sept. 26 via private sale)

• $4.7 million: 2018-19 Panini Flawless Luka Doncic NBA Logoman patch rookie autographed one-of-one card, ungraded (Sept. 26 via private sale)

• $4.25 million: 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite LeBron James rookie patch autographed card numbered to 23, PSA 9 card/10 auto grade (Aug. 21 via private sale)

• $4.03 million: 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card, SGC 3 grade (Oct. 24 via auction at Heritage)

On eBay, the sales volume in dollars spent for the year, compiled by GemRate through November, shows just how valuable Jordan and Ohtani are to collectors:

1. Michael Jordan: $63.5 million
2. Shohei Ohtani: $52.3 million
3. Kobe Bryant: $28.5 million
4. Victor Wembanyama: $27.5 million
5. LeBron James: $27.4 million
6. Jayden Daniels: $27 million
7. Mickey Mantle: $21.5 million
8. Patrick Mahomes: $20.7 million
9. Tom Brady: $20.7 million
10. Caitlin Clark: $20.7 million
11. Stephen Curry: $20 million

Despite all those searches and cards graded, both Daniels and Clark saw their sales volumes and many individual card values decline as the year went on due to their respective long-term injuries. This may prove to be a “buy low” opportunity for both, though.

What’s in store for 2026?

With the World Cup being hosted across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, many in the space are predicting a turning point for soccer cards.

If Clark and Daniels can stay healthy and return to their rookie-season form, can their cards regain their momentum and reach new heights?

Will Jordan continue his dominance, or will collectors turn to other legends who might now seem undervalued or more affordable in comparison?

As global economic uncertainties continue, will sports cards cement a place as an alternative asset class and attract serious institutional interest or will money be shifted to more practical necessities?

No matter what the answers to these questions end up being, 2026 is sure to be another year of big movement in the sports card space.

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.