.avif)
.png)
.avif)
Content
Cooper Flagg 1/1 Debut Patch Auto Sells for $8.04 Million, a Basketball Record
Cooper Flagg's 1/1 NBA Debut Patch Autograph sold for $8,040,000 at Fanatics Collect early on September 25, 2026, the most expensive single-player basketball card ever sold, according to Fanatics Collect. The lot page records a $6.7 million winning bid after 83 bids, with buyer's premium taking it past $8 million. Flagg signed this exact card in July, before it ever went into a pack.
The Card That Sold
Card
- 2025 Topps Chrome Update Cooper Flagg Rookie NBA Debut Patch Auto, #DPA-CF, numbered 1/1
- On-card autograph and the full NBA Debut logo patch from Flagg's October 22, 2025 debut against the Spurs
Slab
- PSA 10 Gem Mint, Auto 10, cert 174848385
Sale
- Venue: Fanatics Collect September Premier Auction
- Winning bid: $6,700,000
- Final price with buyer's premium: $8,040,000
- Bids: 83
According to ESPN, the price sat around $3.5 million at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday and kept climbing in extended bidding until about 2 a.m. Friday. Fanatics Collect said on X that the sale set the record for any Cooper Flagg card, well above the previous high of $366,000.
How the Card Reached the Auction
Flagg signed the card in July at Fanatics Fest in New York. "I've signed a lot of cards, but that one was a little nerve-racking," he told ESPN's Kevin Negandhi on stage, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
It was found in August, when a Rhode Island card shop opened 2025 Topps Chrome Update on a livestream, WPRI reported. The pack held a redemption, a placeholder that protects the real card, which was then sent to the owner.
The owner, Jason Williams, 50, of Clover, South Carolina, later consigned it to Fanatics Collect. He told ESPN the moment he received the card left him on the floor in tears, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Mavericks had publicly offered whoever found the card a package that included two premium season tickets for 32 years. Williams chose the auction.
Where It Ranks
The sale clears every single-player basketball card on record, including a Stephen Curry National Treasures Logoman ($5.9 million, 2021) and a LeBron James Exquisite rookie patch auto ($5.2 million, 2021), per the list of most expensive sports cards. Two NBA cards still sit above it, both dual Logoman 1/1s:
1. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant 2007-08 Exquisite Dual Logoman: $12,932,000, August 2025, per the same list
2. Michael Jordan and LeBron James 2006-07 Exquisite Dual Logoman: $10,000,000 in a private sale, reported October 2025, per cllct
3. Cooper Flagg 2025 Topps Chrome Update Debut Patch Auto: $8,040,000, September 2026
Across all sports, Card Ladder's all-time list, as cited by Collectibles On SI, puts Flagg fifth. Ahead of it: the Jordan and Kobe Dual Logoman, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle SGC 9.5 ($12.6 million at Heritage in 2022), a Shohei Ohtani Dual Gold Logoman ($11 million in a private sale in July 2026) and the Jordan and LeBron Dual Logoman.
What It Means for Collectors
This was not a one-off. The same auction sold the Dylan Harper Debut Patch 1/1 in PSA 9 for $2,880,000 and the Kon Knueppel version in PSA 10 for $2,340,000. All three passed the previous Rookie Debut Patch record of $1.1 million for Paul Skenes. The category, built around the actual patch from a player's first game, now carries seven-figure prices for top rookies.
The ceiling applies to true one-of-ones. The previous Flagg record of $366,000 was a 1/1 Padparadscha rookie autograph from Topps Chrome Sapphire, and Flagg's numbered and base rookies trade in completely different markets. A record for one card says nothing about what a base rookie is worth.
It is also a reminder that modern 1/1s can now compete with vintage grails. Our list of the most expensive basketball cards covers the full top end, and the most expensive trading cards list puts it next to the biggest sales from every hobby.
Where to Go From Here
Records like this show how far the top of the hobby has moved in 2026. If you collect at a more everyday level, the Polkastarter marketplace gives you a free mystery pack when you sign up, and every Lootbox lists its contents, values, and chances before you open.
Details checked October 1, 2026. Prices and rankings change. Nothing here is financial or investment advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Topps, Fanatics, the NBA, PSA or the other companies named.
Sources
- Fanatics Collect: 2025 Topps Chrome Update Cooper Flagg NBA Debut Patch Auto 1/1 PSA 10 lot, closed September 25, 2026, accessed October 1, 2026
- ESPN: Cooper Flagg NBA rookie debut patch card sale, published September 25, 2026, accessed October 1, 2026
- WPRI via Yahoo Sports: Rare Cooper Flagg patch card pulled, published August 11, 2026, accessed October 1, 2026
- Los Angeles Times via Yahoo Sports: Cooper Flagg card sale, published September 25, 2026, accessed October 1, 2026
- Wikipedia: List of most expensive sports cards, accessed October 1, 2026
- cllct via Yahoo Sports: Michael Jordan and LeBron James Dual Logoman private sale, published October 29, 2025, accessed October 1, 2026
- Collectibles On SI via Yahoo Sports: Flagg, Ohtani and Ruth all on top 5 card sale list, published September 28, 2026, accessed October 1, 2026
.png)
Ilknur Gubel is a social media manager at Polkastarter. Ilknur has spent the past four years working as a project manager, marketing manager, and social media strategist across Web3. She has held marketing and project management positions at several crypto companies, including Polygen, Nitro League, Kaizen.Finance, and ChainPort.
At Polkastarter she has covered trading card releases, collectible market pricing, and how token holders can spend crypto on real cards and videogames.
Based in Istanbul, Ilknur earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Istanbul Aydın University.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn for more information.