Michael Jordan still owns the hobby spotlight, but August’s eBay search trends showed plenty of company behind him.
Jordan finished first among athletes on the marketplace last month, with search interest in his name up 20% from July. The demand turned into serious money, too.
One factory-sealed 1986-87 Fleer box, signed and inscribed “Rookie Card Box 1/1” by Jordan, sold for $900,100. In all, 22 Jordan listings cleared $50,000, and five topped $100,000.
That group included two six-figure sales of his 1984 Star #101 rookie cards in MBA and PSA slabs, along with a BGS 8.5 2000 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects jersey auto numbered to 23, which drew 89 bids and finished at $134,100.
The month also brought another landmark for Jordan on the auction side. His Card Ladder index climbed 13%, and a 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems in a BGS 8 slab on Alt set an all-time record for the highest publicly sold Jordan card at nearly $1.5 million.
Shohei Ohtani was next in the search rankings, and his market stayed hot even with injuries keeping him from pitching since early July and a dip from his career-high power production. Ohtani’s Card Ladder index rose 11% in August. Four different slabbed rookie-year signed cards passed $50,000 on eBay, led by a BGS 9.5 2018 Topps Heritage Real Ones Autograph, hand-numbered 63/69, which sold for $105,200.
Ohtani’s biggest headline, though, came away from eBay. His 2025 Topps Dynasty Gold Logoman in a PSA 9 slab reached $1.14 million in a Fanatics Premier auction on August 28.
That came after his 2025 Topps Chrome Dual Logoman Auto sold for $11 million on July 30, the third-highest public sale of all time. With Ohtani expected to return to the Dodgers lineup in time for the postseason, collectors will be watching closely.
Then came George Costanza, who managed to crash the collectibles conversation in a way only George Costanza could. On August 27, the Yankees held their third annual George Costanza bobblehead giveaway, honoring their former assistant to the traveling secretary. The first 18,000 fans got a bobblehead of the Seinfeld character in a Yankees jacket and holding a calzone, and many waited for hours outside the stadium despite weather delays.
Some fans wasted no time flipping the figures. Searches for “George Costanza bobblehead” jumped more than 700% month over month, and listings around the promotion sold in the $75 range and as high as $115. It doesn’t appear that any were traded for Tyler Chicken.
Kobe Bryant remained a fixture near the top of the market as well, with searches for his name up 20%. A raw 1997 SkyBox Premium Rubies numbered to 50 sold for $300,000 on August 26, topping the $226,500 paid for a PSA 8 two months earlier. Another copy in the same grade sold for $122,000 almost exactly a year before that.
Shaquille O’Neal was the biggest mover among the old-school names. Searches for him on eBay surged 170%, pushing him to fifth among athletes in August, while his Card Ladder index rose 43.89%. High-end parallels, base cards and lower-end inserts all drew attention.
On the modern side, Cooper Flagg ranked fourth in total searches and posted the highest month-over-month jump among basketball players outside of O’Neal, with a 30% increase. His higher-end rookie parallels have already climbed into elite territory, with three separate 1-of-1 superfractors selling between $182,000 and $288,000 in August. He still isn’t in Wemby territory, but the market is treating him like a name that could get there.
The baseball buzz wasn’t limited to established stars. George Lombard Jr. saw searches spike by more than 840% after the 21-year-old jumped from the minors into the Yankees lineup on August 4 and launched his first major-league hit into the left-field seats. From his call-up through the end of the month, nine of his 2024 Bowman autos and parallels sold for at least $10,000, and his 2026 Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto Superfractor in a PSA 9 slab brought $18,000.
August also gave a boost to four top football prospects, even without NFL games of consequence. Searches for Tennessee wide receiver Carnell Tate autographs were up 410% from July, while Cowboys first-round safety Caleb Downs jumped 380%. Jeremiyah Love rose 230% and Fernando Mendoza was up 210%.
In Other News...
Yankees Needed This From George Lombard Jr More Than Ever
With Aaron Judge on the injured list because of a right calf strain, the Yankees needed someone young to step into a larger spotlight in Arizona, and George Lombard Jr. answered with one of the best games of his brief big league run. The rookie collected two hits and drove in three runs in a 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, giving New York some much-needed production from a lineup suddenly missing its biggest bat.
Lombard Jr. delivered both a two-run single and a home run, the kind of timely damage that can change how a game feels when the Yankees are trying to keep moving without Judge. Gerrit Cole also provided a steadying presence, working six innings and allowing two runs while striking out six, adding another milestone to a night that gave New York a cleaner look at how its depth can hold up when the roster gets tested. [Read more 🡒]
Bernie Williams Is Giving Yankees Fans A Whole New Reason To Watch
Bernie Williams has never really been just a former Yankees center fielder, and this fall he is adding another high-profile stage to a second career that has quietly become part of his identity. Beginning Oct. 22 and running through Nov. 29, Williams will perform with the Tony- and Grammy-winning band behind Broadways Buena Vista Social Club at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, giving fans another chance to see him in a setting far removed from the old Yankee Stadium outfield.
For Yankees followers, it is a neat crossover that brings one of the franchises most beloved alumni into the Broadway spotlight at the same time former major league infielder Jose Iglesias is also in the show. The result is a rare baseball-to-theater connection that fits Williams longstanding music background and adds a little extra intrigue for anyone who still associates him with the pinstripes. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Face A Brutal Aaron Judge Timeline
Aaron Judges trip to the 10-day injured list has put the Yankees in a familiar but unwelcome spot, waiting on the health of the player who still shapes nearly everything they do. The calf strain, specifically in the soleus muscle, is the latest setback in a season where the margins around Judge have mattered constantly, and Boone said the club will try to get him back before the year is over. Judge has said he wants to return by the postseason, but for now there is no firm timeline.
What makes this latest pause so tricky is the lack of clarity around just how long the Yankees may be without him. Boone did not offer any further detail on the severity of the injury, leaving the team to manage both the roster and the uncertainty that comes with losing its centerpiece. For a club built to contend now, the question is no longer only when Judge can swing again, but how much time the Yankees can afford to spend guessing. [Read more 🡒]