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FEMALE PHENOM: Surge in Caitlin Clark cards fuels interest in women’s sports in collectibles market
“How much for that Caitlin Clark card?”
That’s become a very popular request at card shows across North America over the past year.
The answer when it comes to Clark’s rookie cards often involves many zeroes. That’s because Clark has become a phenom both on the hardwood and cardboard.
“As an NBA card collector, it’s been great to see the explosion of women’s basketball cards to chase,” said John O’Hara, who has been collecting basketball cards since 2018. “Caitlin Clark has given us all a reason to go after her cards and other rookies.”
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O’Hara is like a lot of collectors gripped by the Clark craze. He attended the Toronto Sport Card Expo this past fall on the hunt for her cards. He wasn’t alone. Card shops across the country have been getting calls from collectors asking about WNBA products.
Even shop owners have gotten in on the act.
Dale Williams, owner of Bear Jax Sports and Trading Cards in Oklahoma, pulled a 1/1 Clark Black Finite autograph rookie card last November from a pack of Panini Select WNBA.
“I started sweating,” Williams recalled. “A lot of yelling; a lot of screaming.”
One of the most dominant and exciting players in women’s sports, Clark’s achievements—from breaking NCAA records to her WNBA Rookie of the Year season—have earned her widespread attention. Collectors, in turn, have responded by gobbling up her rookie cards.
Clark cards that are autographed, numbered inserts or slabbed base cards in high grades have become highly coveted. These cards offer an added level of rarity that has attracted collectors in search of unique items.
While WNBA cards have been around since the league’s first season in 1997, interest in Clark has created unprecedented demand for women’s basketball card sets. At the same time, Clark’s popularity comes as there has been a noticeable increase in interest in women’s sports in general.
“Is this an athlete that transcends the sport? For us, when we were going through the process [of signing Clark], we knew she would be such an athlete,” said Jason Howarth, vice president of marketing at Panini America. “When we started this process, we also wanted to deepen our connection to female athletes across sports.”
Prior to her debut with the Indiana Fever last season, Clark was featured in seven sets and numerous print-to-order releases from Topps. Indeed, NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) has allowed college athletes to have licensed cards on the market before turning pro, something that has helped fuel the price increase of Clark’s cards.
In March 2024, Clark signed an exclusive, multi-year deal with Panini America—the first deal of its kind for the company and a female athlete. As a result, Panini has featured Clark in three major 2024 WNBA sets: Select, Origins and Prizm.
“I think we will look back [at 2024] and see it as the big coming out year for women’s sports and these iconic products,” Howarth said. “We had seen popularity in our WNBA products the last few years but never to this level.”
Howarth credited Clark for this newfound popularity, but added that the WNBA’s strong rookie class, including the presence of star Angel Reese, helped fuel it.
“It’s not just collectors,” Howarth said of the public’s response. “Look at this past season’s WNBA TV ratings and the March Madness women’s basketball tournament. It was, in many ways, more compelling and fun to watch than the one on the men’s side.”
In the race to capitalize on Clark’s appeal, Panini also released a player-specific set, packaged as retail blasters. The Caitlin Clark NIL College Collection features a 20-card base set, numerous inserts and hard-to-pull autographs.
“It’s an honor to partner with Panini America as their first multi-year exclusive female athlete, and I’m excited to collaborate with them on my own collection,” Clark said in a release at the time.
There’s a variety of metrics to judge the Clark card phenomenon. Multiple rare cards, for example, have sold for $75,000 or more, which was higher than Clark’s base salary this past season. At the same time, PSA said cards of the Indiana Fever point guard were graded 20 times more than Reese, the next WNBA star on the list, who was drafted by the Chicago Sky. According to PSA, Clark was the most collected female athlete of 2024 and the sixth most collected basketball player, trailing only Victor Wembanyama, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Anthony Edwards.
Online sales and searches are another metric worth noting. In 2023, the number of Clark cards that were sold on eBay increased more than 3,000 percent compared to the previous year, according to the auction site. In 2024, Whatnot, a social platform popular with breakers, said livestreams featuring WNBA cards grew 1,500 percent. Searches for Clark collectables rose 2,400 percent.
In October, Panini sold a #1/1 Clark Rookie of the Year Blue Viper autographed card for $97,000—a record for an WNBA card. The big sales don’t end there. In December, Clark’s 2024 Select WNBA Gold Vinyl #1/1 Signature, graded a dual 10/10 by PSA, was sold by Goldin for a staggering $234,850—the second-highest sale ever for a card featuring a female athlete. That came after the former Iowa star saw her rookie cards sell for a then-record $84,000 in September, and then another for $97,000 in October.
Condition isn’t even a factor. In November, Clark’s 2022-23 Bowman Best University Chrome Gold Autograph, numbered to /50, was found in a pond and destroyed by water—and still sold for $512 on eBay.
“It’s huge for the Panini brand,” Howarth said of the auction sales. “It’s a validation of what we’re doing. It shows that women’s trading cards are growing.”
Clark’s popularity isn’t limited to just trading cards. Also in October, Panini dropped a series of her items, ranging in price from $450 to $1,000 each. They sold out in minutes. In the end, a total of 19 autographed items, including photos, jerseys and balls, sold for a combined $900,000.
“Some of Clark’s card prices are crazy,” O’Hara said. “I’m just happy getting her base cards and getting those graded. I think they will hold their value because she’s such a great player.”
Clemente Lisi
