Fanatics Fest this year was pure beautiful chaos. Imagine if someone dropped a traditional card show straight into the middle of a Fast & Furious movie set. One minute you’re browsing slabs, the next Jason Sudeikis casually walks by, your phone buzzes with an alert that Tom Brady just slapped Logan Paul, and the crowd completely loses its mind as Victor Wembanyama steps into the Topps Instant Rips booth. Michael Rubin is seemingly in four or five places at once, and Bieber just took the stage over at the WWE booth. There was a reason to sprint to the other side of the Javits Center practically every minute.
I left exhausted, but incredibly fired up for the state of the hobby. Yet, for me, the most mind-blowing part of the weekend wasn’t the A-list celebrities, the athletes, or the influencers. It was the cardboard. At nearly every booth, there was a grail card you could only dream of ever owning. Here are the absolute craziest cards I saw at Fanatics Fest, in no particular order.
1998 Skybox Molten Metal Kobe Bryant Fusion
Estimated price: $31K
1997 Skybox Premium Michael Jordan Star Rubies
Estimated price: $375K
2008 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant Dual Auto /10
Estimated Price: $500k
Cameron Brink RC x Tyson Beck “This Card is a PSA 10” PSA 9
Estimated Price: $4k
1952 Topops Mickey Mantel Type 1 CGC 8, seen at the CGC Graded Grails Booth
Estimated price: $2 million+, previously sold for 1.3M
1909 T206 Honus Wagner “Die Cut” Restored CGC Authentic, seen at CGC Graded Grails Booth
2020 Topps Dynasty Aaron Judge London Series Relic Auto 1/1 PSA 9
Estimated price: $250k
2022 Donruss Optic Tom Brady Downtown Gold /10 PSA 10
Estimated price: $200k
1953 Bowman Collor Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantel, Hank Bauer Tripple Auto PSA 10 Auto Grade
Estimated price: $15k
2022 Prizm UFC Paddy Pimblett Black Prizm 1/1 Rookie PSA 9
Estimated price: $10k
2018 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractor /150 Shohei Ohtani Rookie BGS 9.5 / 10
Estimated price: $225k
2006-2007 Exquisite Dual Number Pieces Michael Jordan Lebron James Dual Auto
Estimated price: $380k
1999 Skybox Dominion Kobe Bryant Sky’s The Limit-Warp TEK PSA 9
Estimated price: $200k (last sold ~$50K )
2024-25 Donruss FIFA Lionel Messi Gold Kaboom /10 PSA 9
Estimated price: $225K (Last sold $144k)
2016 Transcendent Collection Babe Ruth 1/1 Cut Auto
Estimated price: $80k
National Treasures Tripple Auto Roberto Clemente, Jackie Robinson & Joe Dimaggio Booklet 1/1
Estimated price: $30k
Also shown, $65k Mantel for good measure.
1998-99 E-X Century Dunk’n Go Nuts Michael Jordan BGS 9.5
Estimated Price: $30k
2000 Bowman Chrome Rookie Tom Brady PSA 10
Estimated price: $50k
2018 Bowman Chrome Shohei Ohtani Orange /25 Rookie Auto PSA 10
Estimated price: $1 Million+
2025 Prizm Jackson Dart Rookie Black Finite 1/1 PSA 10
Estimated price: $200k
1998 Pikachu Illustrator PSA 9 Autograph Takumi Akabne
Estimated price: $1 million+
2003 Topps Chrome Lebron James Rooki eBlack Refractor PSA 8
Estimated price: $50k
2024 Revolution Lebron James Green Kaboom 1/1 PSA 8
Estimated price: $1 Million+
1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantel / Ken Griffey Jr Dual Autograph PSA 7 / 10 Auto
Estimated price: $70k
2018 Panini National Treasures Josh Allen True RPA /99 PSA 10
Estimated price: $200k
2005-06 Exquisite Collection Limited Logos Lebron James Patch Auto BGS 9.5
Estimated price: $100k
2025-26 Cooper Flagg Topps Chrome Update Debut Patch
Estimated price: ????
The legendary, best to ever do it, Pablo Sanchez 2000 Pacific PSA 4
Estimated price: $1 million
What were the best cards you saw at Fanatics Fest? Let us know on Mantel.
