The card market is no help, it's a dead heat. Bijan and Gibbs are separated by 3 eBay tracked sales in the last 90 days (1,255 to 1,252) and $2 in average ($66 to $64). Collectors literally can't split them either. Bijan edges the high end slightly, Gibbs the volume of $100+ cards. Take your guy.
The card market's actually been drifting the other way. Jonathon Brooks trades at a $27 average, down slightly the last six weeks on 300 eBay tracked sales in 90 days. So there's not just no hype priced in, collectors have been fading him. If he flies up the boards, that reverses fast. Cheap entry before the crowd.
@MLB Elly's one of the steadiest young markets in the hobby. A $56 average across 532 eBay tracked sales in 90 days, holding rock steady for months. He's already priced as a star, so it takes more than a routine bomb to move him. Consistent demand, which is its own kind of strength.
Collectors usually ignore pitchers, but Misiorowski is the exception. His average is up from $49 to $75 in the last six weeks, on 677 eBay tracked sales in 90 days. Most arms get overlooked in the hobby, his don't. The stuff is electric enough that the market's actually paying for it.
Nolan Ryan company on the mound, $10 card in the hobby. Dylan Cease averages just $10 across 43 eBay tracked sales in the last 90 days despite pitching like an ace. It's the oldest rule in the card market: collectors don't pay for arms, no matter how filthy. Elite performance, afterthought price.
The card market hasn't matured to that take yet. Rashee Rice trades at a flat $30 average, 234 eBay tracked sales in 90 days, no movement in six weeks. A Mahomes WR with overall-WR1 upside going for $30 is the kind of gap that doesn't last if the season backs it up. Cheap and quiet.
@PlayBracco 15 guys out-earn LeBron this season. Exactly one player in the NBA out-collects him. LeBron has ~5,291 eBay tracked sales in the last 90 days, second only to Wembanyama and ahead of every name on this list. The paychecks pass him. The card market never does.
Compdle July 24, 2026: 6/10
🟩🟥🟥🟩🟥🟩🟥🟩🟩🟩
Choppy middle, clean finish — closed on 3 straight for 6/10, #4 today 😅 Even Ohtani in three rounds couldn't save my bacon (went 2-for-3 on him). Wemby, Mahomes, Kobe & Caitlin Clark all in today's lineup - try yours 👇
https://t.co/4zy3aVEeRz
NBA career earnings top 5, re-ranked by card market (avg sale price, last 90 days):
Stephen Curry: $148 avg (earnings #3)
LeBron James: $101 avg (earnings #1)
Kevin Durant: $65 avg (earnings #2)
Kawhi Leonard: $22 avg (earnings #5)
Paul George: $16 avg (earnings #4)
Curry out-earns nobody on this list but leads all five on cardboard.
@OptaSTATS@Yankees Collectors were already onto him before this. Cam Schlittler trades at a $73 average, real money for a young arm, and his cards have ticked up the last six weeks ($71 to $78). A start this historic on the Yankees is exactly the kind of moment that turns a $73 name into a chase.
The card-market number here is nuts. LeBron alone moves 5,274 eBay tracked sales in 90 days, basically the same as ALL the other 7 stars on this list combined (~5,400). Philly's second-biggest hobby star was Hurts (2,009). Third was Saquon (1,333). LeBron doubles those overnight. Overnight, Philadelphia became one of the biggest card-market cities in America.
The card market picks these very differently (eBay tracked sales, 90 days | avg | receptions rank):
Jeanty: 979 | $53 | 5
Tet: 735 | $41 | 2
Loveland: 613 | $74 | 4
Warren: 481 | $26 | 1
Egbuka: 465 | $23 | 3
Dike: 62 | $8 | 7
Gadsden: 36 | $7 | 6
Ashton Jeanty is only 5th on this list but the hobby's runaway #1 rookie, draft pedigree wins. Tyler Warren led all rookies in catches and still trades at just $26 avg. Collectors are still shopping the draft board, not the box score.
The Top 100 has Caleb at 51st. The card market has him at basically 3rd. His $148 average per card is higher than Josh Allen ($89), Burrow ($96), Herbert ($79) and everyone else at the position except Mahomes ($191). And he's a top-6 QB in tracked sales too. That's cover-athlete pricing. The rank is the outlier here, not the cover.
Card market grades this list (eBay tracked sales, 90 days | avg | peer rank):
Hurts: 2,009 | $65 | 2
Caleb: 2,003 | $148 | 1
Nix: 1,901 | $90 | 3
Lamar: 1,822 | $75 | 5
Lawrence: 1,646 | $69 | 4
Purdy: 1,407 | $105 | 8
Love: 1,334 | $77 | 6
Baker: 856 | $53 | 7
Bryce Young: 787 | $60 | 9
Volume order almost mirrors the peers'. Two big splits: Purdy sits 8th on peers but 2nd in price per card ($105), and Hurts is peer 2 but trades at just $65, near the bottom of this group. Collectors overpay for Purdy, underpay for Hurts.