Collegiate cards have long been considered far less desirable than their pro counterparts for the majority of collectors, but that sentiment might be changing.
And Cooper Flagg has provided the latest litmus test.
Likely lost alongside news that Paul Skenes’ Rookie Debut Patch Autograph sold for a record $1.1 million last Friday — it was eventually revealed to have been purchased by Dick’s Sporting Goods — Flagg delivered a record of his own Sunday night on Fanatics Collect.
Possibly the most important card created to date for the Duke Blue Devils superstar, the 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s All-American Autograph Superfractor 1/1 sold for $28,800 on 75 bids.
According to data tool Card Ladder, that sale is by far the most paid for any Flagg card publicly, and easily eclipses the previous high of $5,890 paid for a 2024 Topps NOW Debut Red Autograph Relic /10 earlier this month.
The record-setting sale for Flagg isn’t an isolated case either — in fact, it was the start of what appears to be a run on high-end sales for key Flagg cards from that 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s All-American set.
Another 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s All-American Flagg Superfractor 1/1 sold for $14,500 at eBay Tuesday and was followed by a 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s All-American Red Refractor Autograph /5 PSA 10/10 for $11,000 on Wednesday.
In total, Flagg’s top five public sales logged in Card Ladder’s database have all come within the last five days.
Widely considered the best player on one of college basketball’s best teams, Flagg is also the heavy favorite to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in June's NBA Draft.
The prices realized over the last week aren’t surprising for a player with Flagg’s expectations, but what is surprising is those prices have been paid for college cards.
Hobbyists have typically heavily preferred players in their professional uniforms, which has often resulted in collegiate and prospect cards — even those from ultra high-end products — holding strong secondary-market value for a very limited period of time for anyone other than superfans of those players and schools.
For now, 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s All-American has arguably the best Flagg cards available, but that won’t last for long.
It’s even hard to imagine that prospect cards from the 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s All-American set will hold the best long-term value among any of Flagg’s amateur cards.
Should the current hierarchy for prospect and collegiate cards continue, Flagg’s first flagship and most important college cards will arrive in early April with the release of 2024-25 Bowman Chrome University Basketball.
That release will be the first traditional set to feature Flagg in his Duke uniform — he’s previously appeared with his Blue Devils uniform in the print-to-demand Bowman U NOW set — and is expected to feature the best Flagg cards prior to his first NBA releases.
This isn’t to say that 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald’s cards are undesirable, but the hobby likes what it likes, and cards similar in spirit to that set simply haven’t been long-term priorities for collectors.
The prices paid for Flagg’s prospect cards could be signaling a shift in collector sentiment, however, and that becomes more clear when analyzing other collegiate card sales.
The most notable collegiate sales in recent years have featured former Iowa Hawkeyes and current Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.
At one time her most expensive card to sell publicly, Clark’s 2022 1st Bowman University Autograph Superfractor 1/1 PSA 10 sold for $75,000 in January and featured her Iowa uniform.
In total, Card Ladder has logged six sales of $20,000 or more that feature Clark in her Iowa uniform rather than her Fever gear, though Fever cards do account for her top five sales.
Looking beyond Clark, Flagg’s recent sales perform favorably compared to collegiate card sales for other top players.
Of the cards logged in Card Ladder’s database, it appears the highest sale for a Zion Williamson collegiate card is the $28,800 paid for his 2019 Panini Cyber Monday Rookies Diskettes 1/1 PSA 10 at Heritage in May 2020.
Other key collegiate cards for Williamson, which include high-end patches from Immaculate Collection Collegiate Basketball and National Treasures Collegiate Basketball, appear to have apexed between $15,000 and $19,000 at a time when the card market as a whole was reaching its peak value.
Despite his best collegiate cards likely still to come, Flagg’s current McDonald’s All-American cards also appear to be outperforming ultra high-end collegiate examples for stars including Jayson Tatum, Cade Cunningham, Ja Morant and Paolo Banchero.
Assuming Flagg continues to thrive on the court, it’s fair to believe his key Bowman Chrome University cards, which will likely feature his most coveted college autographs, and eventual Panini Prizm Draft Picks cards, which would feature some of the hobby’s favorite super short-printed parallels, will outperform his current record prices.
College cards are still far less popular than professional sets, but it’s clear that sentiment could be changing if the volume of these sets continues to grow and record-setting prices arrive alongside them.
Major shifts don’t happen quickly, but back-to-back years with key college cards for two of basketball’s most hyped prospects could certainly help accelerate change.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.