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Controversies bring attention.
This is true in the media and in the collectible space.
It's not always good attention. It could be polarizing and that's the place WNBA player Sophie Cunningham finds herself following recent comments regarding transgender women competing in women's sports.
The debate surrounding Cunningham's comments has brought significant attention to her and the WNBA. It has also coincided with some of the biggest sales of Cunningham cards to date.
On July 30, a 2025 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1/1 sold for $9,464 — her highest public card sale on record. On July 26, a 2024 Panini Originals WNBA Logowoman card sold for $3,240 and a 2025 Panini One and One Kaboom sold for $1,995 on August 1.
While Cunningham's market has seen an uptick, attention and sustained collector demand aren't necessarily the same thing.
There have been plenty of athletes over the years who have gained attention when being vocal about their political leanings and beliefs. Those moments can bring in new buyers, but sustainability for long-term collecting isn't always there.
Aaron Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and four-time NFL MVP, previously made headlines for his political stances and conspiracy theories. His card prices saw a spike – like so many in the early 2020s, but have dropped steadily since 2023.
Rodgers' cards now sell at levels much closer to where they were before the pandemic-era sports-card boom, despite being one of the most accomplished quarterbacks of his generation.
Colin Kaepernick, who played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-16, took a knee in protest of police brutality and racial injustices. Once he was a free agent, he was never re-signed by another team and his card prices were at their lowest from 2016-2021, while he was in the center of national discourse.
Despite being a decade removed from his playing career, Kaepernick's cards have shown a resurgence in the past year, including a 2014 Topps Chrome Superfractor sale for $3,099 last December.
Kaepernick's market illustrates why controversy and collectibility aren't always straightforward. His significance now extends beyond his football career. Whether collectors agree with his protest or not, Kaepernick became part of a larger cultural moment in American sports and the public remembers him.
When it comes to Cunningham, her recent card sales show there are buyers willing to spend money on her cards right now. What it doesn't tell us yet is whether those buyers represent a lasting expansion of her collector base — or if it's the extra attention putting a spotlight on her cards.
Continue reading...
This is true in the media and in the collectible space.
It's not always good attention. It could be polarizing and that's the place WNBA player Sophie Cunningham finds herself following recent comments regarding transgender women competing in women's sports.
The debate surrounding Cunningham's comments has brought significant attention to her and the WNBA. It has also coincided with some of the biggest sales of Cunningham cards to date.
On July 30, a 2025 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1/1 sold for $9,464 — her highest public card sale on record. On July 26, a 2024 Panini Originals WNBA Logowoman card sold for $3,240 and a 2025 Panini One and One Kaboom sold for $1,995 on August 1.
While Cunningham's market has seen an uptick, attention and sustained collector demand aren't necessarily the same thing.
There have been plenty of athletes over the years who have gained attention when being vocal about their political leanings and beliefs. Those moments can bring in new buyers, but sustainability for long-term collecting isn't always there.
Aaron Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and four-time NFL MVP, previously made headlines for his political stances and conspiracy theories. His card prices saw a spike – like so many in the early 2020s, but have dropped steadily since 2023.
Rodgers' cards now sell at levels much closer to where they were before the pandemic-era sports-card boom, despite being one of the most accomplished quarterbacks of his generation.
Colin Kaepernick, who played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-16, took a knee in protest of police brutality and racial injustices. Once he was a free agent, he was never re-signed by another team and his card prices were at their lowest from 2016-2021, while he was in the center of national discourse.
Despite being a decade removed from his playing career, Kaepernick's cards have shown a resurgence in the past year, including a 2014 Topps Chrome Superfractor sale for $3,099 last December.
Kaepernick's market illustrates why controversy and collectibility aren't always straightforward. His significance now extends beyond his football career. Whether collectors agree with his protest or not, Kaepernick became part of a larger cultural moment in American sports and the public remembers him.
When it comes to Cunningham, her recent card sales show there are buyers willing to spend money on her cards right now. What it doesn't tell us yet is whether those buyers represent a lasting expansion of her collector base — or if it's the extra attention putting a spotlight on her cards.
Continue reading...
