Over the last five years, as social media has boomed, the option to take a picture with an athlete at the National Sports Collectors Convention has gotten more popular.
Fans who pay for a photo ticket get a professional photograph of them and an athlete sent to them.
“It has definitely caught on,” said Jeff Rosenberg, founder at TriStar, which runs the autograph pavilion at The National next week in Cleveland. “But since this is a hardcore collectors show, the autograph is still the more preferred.”
Rosenberg said that is less the case at entertainment shows and at his store in Las Vegas, where more of the focus is centered on photos.
So who costs the most to take a photo with?
It’s Albert Pujols, who is only participating at his second show and hasn’t appeared since 2018.
He costs $415 for a photo and is one of five players who is more than $300 a pop.
Rounding out the top five are Mariano Rivera and David Ortiz ($312), Manny Ramirez ($311) and Calvin Johnson ($307).
Here is the complete list of Top 15 most expensive athletes to take a photo with at The National:
- Albert Pujols, $415
- Mariano Rivera, $312
- David Ortiz, $312
- Manny Ramirez, $311
- Calvin Johnson, $307
- Floyd Mayweather, $259
- Jerry Rice, $259
- Joe Montana, $259
- Emmitt Smith, $245
- Roger Clemens, $208
- Reggie Jackson, $208
- Troy Polamalu, $207
- Sammy Sosa, $207
- John Stallworth, $207
- Bo Jackson, $203
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.