Caitlin Clark trading card sells for $234,850, shattering previous Clark and WNBA record

A Caitlin Clark trading card sold at auction for $234,850 on Saturday night — more than doubling the previous all-time record for a Clark or WNBA card of $97,212.54 set in October. The latest record was achieved by Clark’s one-of-a-kind 2024 Panini Select WNBA Gold Vinyl autograph rookie card and was sold by Goldin.

The latest sale is also the second most expensive women’s sports card of all time behind a 2003 NetPro Serena Williams autographed patch card (featuring a piece of one of her match-worn tennis outfits in the card), which sold in 2022 for $266,400.

The massive jump from the previous record for a Clark card to this shows how interest in the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year’s collectibles still continues to grow, even during the league’s offseason. It also reflects the difference in how different types of cards are valued. The card that sold for $97,212.54 in October was a Panini Instant card (printed to order and sold individually by the manufacturer) made to commemorate Clark winning Rookie of the Year honors. These cards are traditionally less valuable than cards pulled out of packs, like the Panini Select Gold Vinyl card was. And with WNBA trading card rights holder Panini’s flagship product, 2024 WNBA Prizm, still yet to be released, it seems likely that another record could be achieved once the 1/1 autograph card from that product is pulled.

The first of three 2024 WNBA trading card sets didn’t start to hit the market until mid-October, which has been a major contributor to Clark sales records progressing throughout the calendar year. First, one of her college cards set a record in January, then one of her WNBA Draft cards set a record in September, then her Rookie of the Year card in October, and now arguably her most significant pack-pulled WNBA card released to date has topped them all.

Here are the top five Clark card sales to date:

2024 Panini Select Signed Gold Vinyl (sold 12/7/24) — $234,850

2024 Panini Instant Rookie of the Year Blue Viper autographed (sold 10/4/24) — $97,212.54

2024 Panini Instant WNBA Draft Blue Viper autographed (sold 9/20/24) — $84,000

2022 Bowman University Autographed Superfractor (sold 1/25/24) — $78,000

2024 Panini Select Autographed Black Finite (sold 12/1/24) — $52,800

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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