It was a monster week at the top of the sports card market, with six sales clearing the $500,000 mark and a mix of names that spans eras, sports, and hobby legend status.
The week’s biggest headline belonged to a PSA 8 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, which finished at $1,555,500 on July 10, 2026. Few cards in the hobby carry the same weight as the 1952 Topps Mantle, and this one again proved why it sits in a class of its own.
Last year, the card set the record for the most expensive solo-player sports card ever sold when a PSA 9 brought $12,600,000. Earlier this year, golf great Fred Couples also made news with his PSA 2.5 copy of the card.
Tom Brady landed at No. 2 with his most sought-after card, a PSA 8 with a 10 auto 2000 Playoff Contender Tom Brady Championship Ticket Autograph rookie card #144 (83/100) with an MBA silver sticker. It sold for $1,113,250 on July 10, 2026.
That card has now crossed the $1 million line more than twenty times, though the record still belongs to a BGS 9 with a 10 auto that reached $3,800,000 in February 2022. So far, this is the only Brady card to top seven figures, but the source of the market’s confidence is obvious.
Jim Thorpe checked in at No. 3 with a PSA 9 1933 Sport Kings card that sold for $777,750 on July 10, 2026. Thorpe doesn’t often dominate these weekly leaderboards, which makes this result stand out even more.
It was the highest public sale ever for the football icon, and it blew past the previous mark for any Thorpe card - the same card, which sold for $138,000 in July 2020. Thorpe remains one of the greatest all-around athletes in history and one of football’s earliest stars, a figure who helped shape the sport in its formative years.
Jackie Robinson followed at No. 4 with a PSA 8.5 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson #312 that brought $622,200 on July 10, 2026. That price made it the third-highest sale of any Robinson card and the highest sale ever for that grade. Only two Robinson cards have sold for more, and both were PSA 9s that went for $960,000 in 2021.
Kobe Bryant rounded out the top five with a PSA 7, with a 10 auto, 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Limited Logos Autograph game-used patch #LL-KB (/75) that sold for $617,320 on July 11. It’s now the highest-selling card of its kind and the second-highest-selling autographed limited logos card featuring Bryant.
That was the story of the week: Mantle at the top, Brady still powering the high end, and a deep run of hobby royalty filling out the list.
In Other News...
Patriots Have A Forgotten Back Pushing For A Real Camp Role
The Patriots are heading into camp with the usual attention on Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, but the more interesting battle may come a layer deeper on the depth chart. Behind the top two backs, New England is sorting through a group that includes undrafted free agent Lan Larison, rookie Myles Montgomery and seventh-round pick Jam Miller as it looks for someone to claim a real role in the rotation.
Larison is the name worth watching because he brings a different kind of resume to the competition, one built on production as both a runner and receiver at UC Davis. He is also trying to re-establish himself after spending last season on injured reserve, which makes his camp push as much about getting back on the field as it is about winning over the coaches in a crowded room. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Could Make A Risky Bet On A Fallen First Rounder
Tyler Guytons path in Dallas has turned into one of the more uncertain storylines surrounding a former first-round pick, with injuries and uneven play clouding what once looked like a straightforward development track. For teams watching from afar, that kind of profile can turn into an opportunity, especially for a club like New England that is still sorting out its long-term answers at right tackle and could use another young lineman to develop.
The Patriots have been mentioned as a possible landing spot if the Cowboys decide Guyton is available, and the fit is easy enough to see on paper. He entered the league at right tackle, which gives New England a potential head start in evaluating whether he can grow into a role there, and the appeal is obvious for a team that may soon need to think beyond Morgan Moses. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Should Think Twice Before Chasing This Buzzed About Linebacker
The linebacker market always gets noisy when a recognizable name starts surfacing in trade talk, and Patrick Queen is the latest one to draw attention as the Patriots look ahead to 2026. He still has the kind of rsum that can tempt a team hunting for speed and range in the middle of its defense, but the numbers behind his recent play make the fit far less straightforward than the buzz suggests.
Queens value has been questioned because of what happened in coverage, where he gave up a 114 passer rating and four touchdowns while still piling up 129 tackles and six tackles for loss. Add in the fact that he is set to earn $13.3 million this fall, and New England would have to decide whether the name recognition and age are worth the risk of betting on a bounce-back under a new coaching staff. [Read more 🡒]