A Tom Brady rookie card sold for a record-setting $1.32 million in an online auction at PWCC Marketplace on Thursday, marking the most ever paid for a football card.
James Park, a longtime Brady fan who lives in Boston, bought the autographed 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket card, one of 100 in existence.
"I lived in Boston for 10 years and so am a huge fan of Brady. The last Super Bowl win was just a mind-blowing accomplishment," Park told ESPN. "I've also had a love of collecting cards since I was a kid. Given Brady's uncontested status as GOAT in football, this card is an important piece of sports history and of any collection."
The sale of the card, which is graded an eight for quality and 10 for the autograph, smashed the previous record for the most spent on a football card by nearly $500,000.
Last month, a buyer purchased an autographed 2017 National Treasures Patrick Mahomes card, one of only five believed to be in existence of that particular card, for $861,000, according to ESPN. That card, which included a piece of Mahomes' jersey embedded in it, was graded a nine and was sold in an online auction hosted by Goldin Auctions. That sale broke the previous record, which was held by another Brady card that sold for $555,988 in January.
To put the recent sale of Brady's card in perspective, another Brady rookie card from the 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket collection that had a Mint 9 grade and a perfect 10 grade on the autograph, sold for $400,100 in February 2019, making it then the highest auction price ever for a football card.
However, Thursday's sale might not hold the record for long. The same Brady card is up for auction at Lelands, but it's graded an 8.5 with the signature graded a nine. The card had a bid at $707,565 with 29 days still remaining.
The trading card market is blistering lately. Consider that the famous 1951 Mickey Mantle rookie card sold in January for $5.2 million, and according to the Daily Mail, a Luka Doncic rookie card sold for $4.6 million at auction.
--Field Level Media