Welcome back to The Hobby Wire — the newsletter for collectors, investors, and everyone trying to make sense of this wild hobby.
At the start of each month, we take a step back and look at where the sports card world actually stands. What’s moving the market, what’s on deck, and where collectors should keep their eyes peeled.
May was quiet until it wasn’t. Let’s rip in.
Previously on The Hobby Wire…
There was a lot of product to break down in May. We looked under the hood of one of Baseball’s biggest releases of the year, 2026 Bowman Baseball, and were even lucky enough to find some on the shelves to rip ourselves.
We also dropped a handful of Collector's Case Studies, from Victor Wembanyama to Jalen Brunson to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. In a stroke of total coincidence, both NBA players we covered made it to the Finals. Read what we wrote on Brunson and Wembanyama before you go all-in on their cards.
Victor Wembanyama: A Collector's Case Study
22-60. That was the win/loss record for the storied San Antonio Spurs in the 2022-23 season. This season, they flipped the script, closing out 2025-26 at 62-20.
Around the Hobby
May had some pretty big hobby news come our way.
First, the comical attempt from GameStop to buy eBay. That story lasted all of three days before eBay shut it down entirely, calling the $56 billion bid “neither credible nor attractive.”
In bigger news, Fanatics announced it locked up exclusive rights with FIFA starting in 2031. That means Fanatics will be the only company allowed to print cards tied to FIFA events. This includes the World Cup, the biggest tournament in sports.
The headline screams death blow to Panini, who lean heavily on soccer at this point. We’re not so sure. At least not right away.
The business of soccer is far more segmented than, say, baseball. In baseball, whoever holds the MLB license is the only one allowed to print cards with team logos, which makes any unlicensed product look even cheaper by comparison. Soccer doesn’t work that way. Exclusivity deals have to be cut with each league and governing body. UEFA is a different deal than FIFA. La Liga is separate from the English Premier League.
Fanatics has a long way to go before kicking Panini out of the space for good. Though we’re sure they’ll try.
But the biggest news in May is something that’ll hit collectors a lot sooner than 2031. Last week, PSA announced it’s shutting down all value services indefinitely, citing overwhelming demand as it digs out from a backlog approaching 10 million cards. The higher tiers (Regular, Express, Super Express, and Walk-Through) stay open. But with Value gone, the cheapest way to submit is now Regular at $79.99 per card.
The halt kicks in June 2nd at 3pm PST. Any submissions dated before that time will still be honored, even if they haven’t physically reached PSA yet. If it feels familiar, it should. It’s nearly a replay of PSA’s 2021 Value-tier suspension.
We’ll link a great writeup from The Collectors Edge in our Collector’s Corner below if you want the deeper breakdown.
Baseball
Are the White Sox watchable again?! After a .500 April, the Sox kicked it into another gear, going 18-10 in May. Credit the pitching staff. But what the hobby’s really buzzing about is the emergence of the South Side Samurai, Munetaka Murakami. Twenty home runs on the season already, he’s the new fan favorite.
Murakami only has a few rookie cards so far, in Bowman Baseball and Topps Chrome Black. But even his paper base from Bowman is selling around $3 raw, with numbered parallels starting at $100 raw. Expect him to be one of the more sought-after rookies in Topps Series 2 later this month.
Another theme this May: AL pitching injuries. Big blows to the Cy Young picture, with both Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet going down for extended time. That leaves the door wide open for one of our favorite rookies in the 2026 class, Cam Schlittler.
Schlittler had a strong September call-up last season. It pales next to what he’s doing in his first full year. A 1.50 ERA and a 275 ERA+ are more than Cy Young-worthy. At this point, it’s his to lose. Though we’ll admit, it’s still early.
Schlittler carried a lot of hype into the season, so his low-end rookie cards have stagnated. But Cy Young-favorite status has high-end investors stepping on the gas. His 2025 Bowman Chrome Auto is up 60% in the last 90 days.
MVP Odds
NL
Shohei Ohtani — -900
Kyle Schwarber — +1400
AL
Aaron Judge — -135
Bobby Witt Jr. — +350
CY Young Odds
NL
Cristopher Sánchez — +170
Jacob Misiorowski — +185
AL
Cam Schlittler — +100
Dylan Cease — +550
Rookie of the Year Odds
NL
JJ Wetherholt — +140
Sal Stewart — +195
AL
Kevin McGonigle — +120
Munetaka Murakami — +430
Odds sourced via FanDuel
Basketball
There will be a new NBA champion in 2026.
On Saturday night, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs dethroned the Thunder for best in the west. It took seven games, but you could see which team wanted it more from the jump. Behind 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 2.7 blocks, Wemby was rightfully named WCF MVP.
Earlier this month, someone paid a record-setting $5.1 million for the Wembanyama Black 1/1 Prizm. When healthy, Wembanyama is the most dominant player in the league. If this is only the start of the NBA’s Wemby era, that price might end up looking cheap when all is said and done.
But let's not let recency bias count out the New York Knicks. They play team basketball as well as anyone, and they've rampaged their way to the Finals doing it. Led by Jalen Brunson, the Knicks are about as unselfish as they come. There's a real chance they grind their way to a ring.
Both Brunson and Wembanyama's cards have surged over the last month. Brunson's Silver Prizm in particular is up a staggering 186%, eclipsing $1,000 for the first time.
NBA Championship Odds
San Antonio Spurs — -205
New York Knicks — +170
Football
Football is relatively quiet this time of year. The draft’s in the books and teams are just starting to gather for OTAs. But May wasn’t a total bust for needle-moving hobby news.
On May 20th, Aaron Rodgers re-signed with the Steelers and then dropped that this will be his last season. The career Rodgers had will almost certainly find him a place in Canton.
Since right before his announcement, Rodgers' PSA 10 Topps Rookie Card is up 70%. Prices could keep climbing alongside the inevitable Aaron Rodgers Retirement Tour. But we aren't looking to buy in now. Check out this post to see how we’re playing it.
2026 MVP Odds
Josh Allen — +550
Lamar Jackson — +650
Patrick Mahomes / Justin Herbert / Joe Burrow — +1000
Upcoming Wax Releases
There’s a ton of releases coming out this month, most of which are high-end:
2025 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Baseball — 06.05.26
2025 Topps Signature Class Football — 06.05.26
2026 Topps Series 2 Baseball — 06.10.26
2025-26 Topps Motif Basketball — 06.11.26
2025 Topps Dynasty Baseball — 06.17.26
2025 Topps Inception Baseball — 06.19.26
2025 Topps Cosmic Chrome Football — 06.19.26
2025-26 Topps Chrome Cactus Jack Basketball — 06.19.26
2026 Topps Tier One Baseball — 06.24.26
2026 Topps Dynamic Duals Baseball — 06.26
2026 Topps Tribute Baseball — TBD June
2025-26 Topps Royalty Basketball — TBD June
2025 Topps Chrome Football Sapphire Edition — TBD June
Release dates sourced from Steel City Collectibles and are subject to change.
Collector’s Corner
(Recommended Reads)
A few articles from around the hobby caught our eye this month.
Thanks for Reading!
That’s a wrap on the June State of the Hobby. Jump into the comments and tell us what you’re watching, how you’re reading the market, and what you want us to dig into next.
Your feedback shapes how we cover this thing. See you next month.
— The Hobby Wire Team
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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 market movers, alt.xyz & 130pt.com.
Any odds mentioned were derived from DraftKings Sportsbook, unless otherwise specified.