Josh Allen Sets a New Record at the Top of the Weekly Sports Card Market
A record-setting Josh Allen card led a surprising top five of the biggest sports card sales of the week, with the list stretching across football, hockey, baseball, basketball, and tennis. While Pokémon and One Piece dominated much of the broader hobby conversation, sports cards still delivered several major results, including the highest-selling Josh Allen card of all time.
The week stood out not only for the size of the sales, but also for the variety of sports represented. Rarely do tennis and hockey cards show up alongside modern football, baseball, and basketball stars in the same weekly leaderboard, but that is exactly what happened here.
No. 5 Novak Djokovic Superfractor Autograph Reaches Six Figures
Tennis cards do not often appear among the biggest sales of the week, but Novak Djokovic changed that with a one-of-one 2025 Topps Chrome Tennis Novak Djokovic Autograph Superfractor that sold for $99,001 on August 6, 2026.
The card was graded PSA 9 with a 10 autograph, and the sale marked the highest price ever paid for a Djokovic card. It nearly doubled the previous record, which was set last year by a 2024 Topps Chrome Dual Autograph featuring Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
No. 4 Wayne Gretzky O-Pee-Chee Rookie Card Draws Strong Demand
The No. 4 sale of the week was a PSA 9 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card, card No. 18, which sold for $110,589 on August 6.
Even with a six-figure result, the card remains well below the highest prices ever paid for this issue. In 2021, multiple copies sold for more than $200,000, including a $265,200 sale in April.
Gretzky has long held a special place in hobby history. He was also an early high-profile sports card collector and famously purchased the T206 Honus Wagner in 1991 for a record price at the time.
No. 3 Shohei Ohtani Rookie Auto Continues to Post Major Sales
Shohei Ohtani once again appeared near the top of the weekly list, continuing a stretch in which his cards have been among the most closely watched in the hobby.
A BGS 9 2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autograph Shohei Ohtani Rookie Card, numbered to 69, sold for $118,340 on August 6, 2026. The card carried a 10 autograph grade and added another notable result to Ohtani's already remarkable market run.
Last week, Ohtani made headlines with the sale of his $11 million Dual Autograph Gold Logoman, which became the third-highest sports card sale of all time.
No. 2 Stephen Curry National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph
The only basketball card to make the top five was a Stephen Curry rookie patch autograph from National Treasures, a card that remains one of the most important modern basketball issues.
A BGS 9.5 2009 National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph, numbered to 99, sold for $463,913 on August 6, 2026. The result kept Curry firmly in the upper tier of the basketball card market, even though it fell short of the card's all-time high.
Earlier this year, a PSA 10 copy sold for $622,200. The record for the card remains the $780,000 paid for a BGS 9.5 in December 2021.
No. 1 Josh Allen's 1/1 National Treasures Shield Autograph Sets a New High
At the top of the list was the card that had hobby watchers talking all week: a 2018 Panini National Treasures Josh Allen NFL Shield Autograph rookie card, a one-of-one that sold for $1.7 million on August 6, 2026.
The PSA 8.5 card set a new record for any Josh Allen card, and it did so during the offseason, which makes the sale even more notable. The result also reinforced Allen's place among the most valuable modern football players in the hobby.
Allen is now the only NFL player with two or more million-dollar cards but no Super Bowl victory on his résumé.
A Week That Showed the Range of the Sports Card Market
This week's top sales offered a reminder that the sports card market is not limited to the biggest names in baseball and basketball. Football led the way with Allen's record result, but the rest of the list showed strong demand for stars from hockey, tennis, baseball, and basketball as well.
From a one-of-one Djokovic Superfractor to a Gretzky rookie, an Ohtani autograph, a Curry rookie patch autograph, and Allen's record-breaking shield card, the week highlighted how elite cards from nearly any sport can still command major attention when the right pieces surface.
For collectors tracking the high-end market, the mix of sports and eras in this week's top five made one thing clear: the biggest sales can come from anywhere in the hobby.
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