Feb 18, 2025; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) poses for a photo during media day at Pirate City. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

mlb

Auction Bidding War Drives Paul Skenes Rookie Card to Record $1.11M

Paul Skenes rookie card sells for more than his salary

Feb 18, 2025; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) poses for a photo during media day at Pirate City. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

A heated auction battle pushed a one-of-a-kind trading card to an eye-watering final price early Friday morning, as bidding extended nearly three hours beyond its scheduled close.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes’ 2024 Topps Chrome Update MLB debut patch autograph card fetched an astonishing $1.11 million, including the buyer’s premium, during Thursday’s auction. This shattered records for a Skenes card, whose 2025 base salary sits at $875,000, and marked the highest price ever paid for a modern baseball card that doesn’t feature Mike Trout. The all-time leader remains a 1-of-1 Trout rookie card, which sold for $3.9 million in August 2020.

The winning bidder remains unidentified, with the sale conducted through Fanatics Collect.

The exclusive 1-of-1 card features an on-card autograph alongside a patch from the jersey Skenes wore during his major league debut. This unique feature was introduced by Topps, MLB’s exclusive trading card licensee, during the 2023 season.

ALSO READ: How Much Money Does Shohei Ohtani Make From Sponsorship Deals?

Before Skenes’ record-smashing sale, the previous high for an MLB debut patch autograph card belonged to Jackson Holliday, whose card went for $198,000, including buyer’s premium, earlier that same night. Previously, Anthony Volpe’s rookie debut card had held the record, selling privately for $150,000 in 2023.

By comparison, Skenes’ card went for nearly 10 times the price of Volpe’s, emphasizing the extraordinary demand for his memorabilia.

Heading into Thursday, bidding had already surged to $900,000, with a total of 64 bids placed before the final sale. However, the identity of the buyer remains unknown.

The Paul Skenes Factor

Skenes’ breakout performance in 2024 – where he was the National League’s All-Star Game starting pitcher, finished third in NL Cy Young voting, and won NL Rookie of the Year, fueled an unprecedented demand for his collectible items.

The buzz around this card began months ago when an 11-year-old Dodgers fan in Los Angeles discovered the redemption card as his only Christmas present. His family, choosing to remain anonymous, found themselves at the center of a bidding war before even entering an auction house.

The Pittsburgh Pirates themselves made an aggressive pitch to acquire the card, offering an extraordinary package that included 30 years of season tickets, a private meet-and-greet with Skenes, two signed jerseys, and exclusive tours of PNC Park and spring training facilities. Even Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, joined in, offering to host the lucky recipient in her suite for a Pirates game. Meanwhile, late-night talk show host Seth Meyers sweetened the deal with a VIP experience to get a glimpse of the card.

Despite these enticing offers, the family opted to take the auction route. After consulting multiple auction houses in early January, they ultimately partnered with Fanatics Collect. Kevin Lenane, Fanatics’ Marketplace vice president, personally traveled to Texas to retrieve the coveted card.

Though the young fan is an avid Shohei Ohtani supporter, he remains excited at the prospect of meeting Skenes, an encounter Fanatics intends to arrange in the near future.

The fervor surrounding this sale is unprecedented. Even longtime industry insiders struggle to recall a time when a modern sports card generated this level of excitement and competition.

Notably, Paul Skenes is also the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Opening Day starter this year.

Paul Skenes

Pirates

Mohsin Baldiwala

mlb

Mohsin Baldiwala is a Master’s student in Journalism and freelance content producer who got hooked on baseball through Seinfeld’s hapless George Costanza. The same reason why he’s a Yankees fan. He writes about sports because he believes it can offer a brief escape from the world’s chaos. Even if that means enduring the heartbreak of the 2024 World Series.