Welcome to The Hobby Wire — a newsletter for collectors, investors, and everyone in between.
Each month, we’ll take a step back and look at where the sports card world stands—what’s been moving the market, what’s on deck, and where collectors should be paying attention. Let’s rip in.
{{Brief summary of the last 30 days in the hobby — 2–3 sentences. Mention the key storyline(s) and set up what’s ahead.}}
Part 1: Kicking off a New Football Season
Today marks the first game of the 2025 NFL season and — in case you were wondering — the answer is no. Taylor Swift’s engagement announcement did nothing to move the needle on the value of Travis Kelce’s cards. Someone who’s cards are actually popping in price after some breaking news is the now former Dallas Cowboy, Micah Parsons. As a result of Jerry Jones’ latest blunder, shipping the generational edge rusher to Green Bay where they were happy to make him the highest paid non-QB shot up his card values, at least in the short term. Parson’s 2021 PSA 10 Silver Prizm has increased in value 20% since news of the trade broke. But there seems to be indication that those prices are pulling back.
The hobby is already locked in on which rookies will make the biggest impact. The problem is that there are virtually no licensed cards on the market for these athletes where they are depicted in their new team’s uniform. Panini always tries to squeak out a football product before the season with Score Football cards, but those cards more often than not depict the rookies still wearing the jerseys of their alma mater. With the exception of some higher end Panini products, it looks like the average collector might not be able to get their hands on some rookie cards with actual value until Week 3 — when this years edition of Donruss Football comes out.
As a collector, now isn’t the time to buy any football cards anyway. Preseason hype always sets prices higher than they should be. It’s best to wait until around Week 5 if you’ve got your eye on a player.
Takeaway: With preseason hype inflating prices and rookies lacking licensed NFL-uniform cards until essentially Week 3, collectors are better off waiting until around Week 5 to buy.
MVP Odds Check:
Lamar Jackson — +550
Joe Burrow — +550
Josh Allen — +600
Part 2: Baseball Heat Check
With the dog days of August behind us, we have one month left for teams to put themselves in the best position for the post season. At this point we have a clear view of who the contenders are. Even after sliding post all star break, the Dodgers are still the odds on favorite to win the whole thing.
The NL is starting to look pretty locked up as far as playoffs are concerned. Teams like the Reds and the Giants are just hoping for someone to have a bad month for them to have a shot at swooping into the wild card. There’s a much closer race brewing in the AL. The AL East is still up for grabs between the Blue Jays, Yankees, and Red Sox and the Rangers and Royals are just an eyelash length from a Wild Card spot.
What does this mean for the hobby? If you’re looking for a quicker flip. It’s time to start looking at the starting lineups for the playoff teams. Anything can happen in October. Even the number nine hitter has a shot to be a playoff hero. Think Jeremy Peña in 2022. Widely thought of as a serviceable glove first short stop to fill the gap left by Carlos Correa, in a lineup that included Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, it was Peña that put the team on his shoulders which resulted in ALCS & World Series MVP hardware for the rookie.
Takeaway: With the general playoff picture mostly set, now’s the time to target players on playoff-bound rosters, since even unexpected names can become hobby stars in October.
MVP Odds:
NL
Shohei Ohtani — -1600
Kyle Schwarber — +700
AL
Aaron Judge — -225
Cal Raleigh — +160
CY Young Odds:
NL
Paul Skenes — -5000
Christopher Sanchez — +1200
AL
Tarik Skubal — -700
Garrett Crochet — +500
Part 3: Basketball on the Horizon
Move over Cooper Flagg, this month has belonged to Chinese Basketball sensation, Yang Hansen.
This year’s 16th overall pick was a surprise at the time, but it might be an even bigger surprise that he’s living up to it. In summer league, Hansen averaged 15.8 points along with 10.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. It’s a solid foundation for someone who will most likely get the starting center spot on a Blazers team that looks to be trying to speed up their rebuild. Before his move to the NBA, Hansen was an established star in the Chinese Basketball Association winning ROY & DPOY in 2024 along with being a two time all star. The defensive skillset has yet to be seen in the states, but rest assured the Summer League hype paired with his global reputation (especially in China) will make him one of the more sought after rookies when 2025-26 product starts coming out.
A couple weeks back, NBC released their schedule for their first NBA season since acquiring the broadcast rights. One thing that stood out to us is that some of these West Coast games are starting extremely late, some as late as 11:00pm EST! These late start times could have a significant effect on the hobby as well.
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
-George Berkley, Irish Philosopher
If Luka Dončić drops 60 on the Clippers and two thirds of the country is already asleep, is it really going to move the needle on his card values? There’s an old theory that, particularly with baseball and basketball, where all the games can’t be scheduled for prime time, the west coast players get less hobby love. There’s something more meaningful about seeing the game in real time instead of watching the highlights the morning after for collector’s and fans of the sport alike. We’ll have to keep watch this season. This theory might be worth a deep dive by The Hobby Wire later this season.
Takeaway: Yang Hansen’s breakout Summer League performance and global following position him as one of the hotter rookies heading into the 2025–26 season. Meanwhile, NBC’s late West Coast tipoffs could dampen hobby momentum for star players if fewer fans are watching live.
MVP Odds Check:
Nikola Jokic — +220
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — +250
Luka Doncic — +380
Part 4: Upcoming Wax Releases
We’ll be mostly keeping track of products that have licenses with the sport, so you won’t see much Leaf or Wild Card here…
2024 Panini One Football - 09.04.25
2025 Topps Pro Debut Baseball - 09.08.25
2025 Topps Tier One Baseball - 09.10.25
2024-25 Panini Obsidian Basketball - 09.12.25
2024-25 Panini One and One Basketball - 09.17.25
2025 Donruss Football - 09.17.25
2024 Panini Flawless Football - 09.18.25
2025 Bowman Chrome Baseball - 09.24.25
2024-25 Panini Immaculate Collection Basketball - 09.24.25
2025 Panini Absolute Football - 09.26.25
Part 5: Watchlist Check-In
The Hobby Wire isn’t really in the business of frequent buy/sell alerts. However, from time to time, we may make the occasional pick. Accountability is everything to us. So, whenever we do decide to highlight an athlete we think is worth looking into, we’re going to track their season long progress here. Good or bad. We’ve missed the opportunity to give picks before football season, but be on the lookout for a recommendation or two around the midway point for NFL and definitely before the NBA season tips off!
*Our standard price comparison will be Prizm/Refractor versions of athlete’s chrome rookie cards since those are the most accessible to collectors of all price points.
Part 6: Collector’s Corner (Recommended Reads & Watches)
Here are some articles/videos around the hobby and the sports we follow that caught our eye.
The Rookie Card Glut: Why 18,000 Paul Skenes Cards Could Change the Hobby — Sports Card Prospectus
1-of-1 Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant Logoman Card Scores Record $12,932,000 in Heritage's Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction — Heritage Auctions
MLB is About to Get Even Crazier — Baseball Doesn’t Exist
Thanks for Reading!
That’s it for this month’s State of the Hobby. Now it’s your turn: jump into the comments and let us know what you think — which storylines you’re watching, how you see the market moving, and what you’d like us to track going forward. Your feedback will shape how we cover the hobby from here on out.
If you enjoyed this edition, be sure to subscribe to The Hobby Wire. In addition to our monthly State of the Hobby, we’ll be dropping 2–3 posts each week with player spotlights, collector insights, product reviews, and market trends to keep you plugged into what’s happening right now in the hobby.
We’ll be back with more hobby chatter next month—until then, the floor is yours.
— The Hobby Wire Team
Disclaimer: The content in The Hobby Wire is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Commentary, analysis, and opinions on sports cards, rookies, and the hobby are not financial, investment, or professional advice. Collectors should always do their own research before buying, selling, or trading cards. Market values are volatile and can change rapidly—past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Unless specified, all pricing references are based on the Prizm/Refractor parallels of an athlete's Chrome rookie card, with prices from 130pt.com.
Any odds mentioned were derived from DraftKings Sportsbook.