In Sports Cards We Trust.

This week, Justin & Neil dive head-first into Topps Chrome Football — the biggest football release of the new Topps/Fanatics era — and break down why the product matters, what collectors are chasing, and whether the real opportunity is in sealed wax or singles. From Superfractors and Kaiju's to Tecmo Super Bowl autos, helmet-off image variations, retail hits, and first-year licensed Topps football, the guys unpack what could become one of the most important modern football products in the hobby.  

🏈 Topps Chrome Football — FDI, Breaker’s Delight, Jumbo, Hobby, blasters, hangers, wave distribution, retail strategy, and why the product is already moving the market.

🔥 Early Monster Sales — Joe Burrow Autograph Superfractor, Jackson Dart Tie-Dye Auto /2, Cam Ward Tecmo Super Bowl Auto, Jackson Dart Kaiju, Josh Allen autos, Caleb Williams parallels, Bo Nix, Puka Nacua, and more.

💰 Wax vs. Singles — Why the boxes are expensive, why singles may be the better play, and whether sealed Topps Chrome Football can appreciate long-term.

👀 Football Collector Psychology — Why NFL collectors are more team-loyal than player-loyal, why licensed logos matter, and why helmet-off image variations could be a genius move.

🏆 Record-Breaking Hobby Sales — Kobe Bryant’s $3.1M Green PMG, Michael Jordan’s $4M+ Game Jersey Autograph /23, Shohei Ohtani dominance, Kaboom momentum, and major April auction results.

⚾ Baseball Market Breakdown — Ohtani as king, Judge, Trout, James Wood, modern baseball concentration, vintage pop-report scarcity, and why diversification still matters.

📸 Neil’s Pickups — A Lew Alcindor-signed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar UCLA photo, 2013 Exquisite college patch cards, 1997 Platinum Medallions, Reggie Miller, second-year football cards, and 1996 Topps Chrome Football.

🎨 Cards as Art — 1955 Bowman TV design nostalgia, Topps Heritage wrestling, manga inserts, error cards, and why some vintage cards hit differently than modern grails.

🧾 PSA Spotlight Auction Preview — 1948 Leaf Babe Ruth, 1959 Yoo-Hoo Mickey Mantle, 1954 Topps Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Ozzie Smith OPC, & Frank Thomas No Name on Front.

From Topps Chrome Football to seven-figure Jordan and Kobe sales, Episode 20 is all about what collectors are chasing now, what could matter later, and why the best cards still feel like art.

The boys are back in town with a recap of the biggest hobby controversies of 2025—and what they actually mean for collectors going forward. From “soaking” and hobby accountability to the Whatnot/Backyard chaos, they break down what mattered, what didn’t, and what to watch for next.

From there, they zoom out to the business side: Fanatics/Topps’ evolving playbook, Topps Chrome demand vs. “garbage” flagship, $50 retail blasters, and Topps’ “wave release” + real-time pricing strategy—plus why that might be great for Topps and brutal for collectors over time. They also hit grading and market structure: PSA price hikes, slower turnaround times, and whether that pushes more selling back into the raw market.

To close, they fire off 2026 predictions (including a CGC take), talk landmines like wax pricing and repacks, and even touch on an MLB labor/strike scenario—and what that kind of macro shock could do to card liquidity and demand.

In this episode:

🧪 2025 scandals: “soaking,” Whatnot/Backyard, hobby accountability.

🏷️ Fanatics/Topps pricing: Topps Chrome mania, wave releases, $50 blasters.

📦 PSA price increases → more raw selling + speed-to-market shifts.

🔮 2026 predictions: CGC, market direction, biggest risks ahead.

This week, Justin & Neil dive head-first into the Mantle Hobby Awards — and break down what the hobby got right, what it got wrong, and what made absolutely no sense. From breakers to grading, memorabilia to innovation.    

🎙️ Breaking Platforms — Why Whatnot is unstoppable, why eBay Live feels like an intrusive neighbor.

🏛️ Auction Houses — REA, Sotheby’s, Fanatics Collect, Heritage, Pristine… who deserves a trophy, and who deserves a time-out.

🛒 Hobby Shops — Burbank’s efficiency, CardVault’s branding, Roadshow’s personality, Mintink’s customer experience — and what really matters to collectors.

📦 Products of the Year — The Cup, 50/50 Shohei, NT, Rookie Royalty, and why “best” depends entirely on whether you ripped or held.

📊 Grading Companies — PSA dominance, CGC’s steadiness, SGC’s lane.

📡 Influencers & Creators — The ones who add value, the ones who add noise, and who refuses to be influenced by anyone.

🔍 Innovation of the Year — What actually counts as innovation vs. what’s just a fancy wrapper.

🧢 Execs & Culture — Nat Turner’s calm under pressure, the Fanatics ecosystem, and how leadership shapes collector trust.

⚾ Memorabilia — Babe Ruth’s called shot jersey, the Ohtani 50th home run ball, Kobe, Mantle — and which piece truly deserves the crown.

This week, Justin & Neil ask the uncomfortable question at the heart of the hobby: how much trust is really left?

From the latest bidding controversy to the blurred lines between self-bidding and price protection, they dig into what integrity means in a market where emotion, money, and reputation all collide.

Along the way, they break down:

💸 How market makers and influencers shape comps behind the scenes.

🧾 What auction-house policies actually say about bidding ethics.

🏆 Why transparency—and technology—might be the next frontier for restoring confidence.

🎯 Data, discipline, and the psychology of chasing rarity.

Neil & Justin are back breaking down the week’s wildest headlines in the sports-card world.

💸 Whatnot’s $225 Million Series F Raise → $11.5 B valuation, new investors, and what it says about tech money flowing back into collectibles.

🧢 Fanatics’ grip on the game → licensing power, product control, and whether anyone can keep up.

🏀 Topps Basketball returns! → print runs, parallels, and that Target-aisle buzz collectors can’t resist.

🎤 Upper Deck fires shots at speculators → is it truth, shade, or survival talk?

💼 Panini wax as an alternative asset. 

💫 Caitlin Clark & the WNBA boom or bust? 

🚀 A sneak peek at Cardonomics —a new spinoff on tech + finance in collectibles.

In this episode of In Cards We Trust, Neil and Justin sit down with the legendary collector and hobby thinker, Spinotron (Dingyu). From his early days opening packs in Beijing to assembling one of the most respected collections in the world, Spino shares his origin story, his academic background in math and physics, and how those skills shaped his unique way of analyzing the card market.

🏀 Spino’s first big pulls and the early grails that shaped his collecting journey.

📈 The evolution of the hobby from the 90s to today — including market cycles, “commodity cards” vs. “coffin cards,” and lessons learned from past peaks and dips.

🔍 His methodology: why checklists, scarcity, and historical context matter more than hype.

💎 High-end debates: NT vs. Flawless vs. Immaculate.  

📦 Sealed wax, grading philosophies, authentication, and the importance of provenance.

🌍 The future: digital assets, Panini NFTs, and why Spino believes blockchain cards could rival physical grails for the next generation. 

On this week’s episode of In Cards We Trust, Neil and Justin dive headfirst into one of the hottest auction nights the hobby has ever seen. With major sales happening simultaneously on Alt, Fanatics Premier, and Goldin Elite, the guys break down the nuclear numbers and what they mean for the market.

🔥 Winners & Losers – Soccer cards lead the charge with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi rookies going stratospheric, while Kobe Bryant’s logo men dominate Fanatics. But not everything is hot—Babe Ruth vintage and Caitlin Clark cards show signs of cooling.

📈 Tier One vs. Tier Two – A candid debate on what makes a true “tier one” card, whether it’s population one grails of Mantle, Jordan, and Brady—or elite patches and one-of-ones in today’s market.

💡 Market Sentiment – From billionaire collectors buying for legacy to whales chasing high-grade slabs, Neil and Justin explore how FOMO, eye appeal, and registry culture are shaping where money flows.

🎴 Collector Insights – Favorite cards of the night, investment plays like Elly De La Cruz, and a reminder to tread carefully when “pop one” numbers can be misleading.

Episode 13 – Wrestling, Soccer & the State of the Hobby.

This week on In Cards We Trust, Justin and Neil welcome Miles Ngo — aka MQN.Collection, the “Soccer Oracle” — for a deep dive into the beautiful game’s place in the hobby. From Messi magic to Haaland hype, they break down why soccer cards are heating up, how the market stacks up against other sports, and what collectors should watch as the 2026 World Cup approaches. Along the way, they draw some surprising parallels to another passionate niche — wrestling cards.

We cover:

⚽ Soccer market boom – World Cup cycles, Messi vs. Ronaldo, Mbappé vs. Haaland

🤼 Wrestling parallels – print runs, licensing shifts, and fandom crossover

🃏 TCG connection – how Pokémon & Magic fuel hobby entry points

📈 Investment timing – when to buy, when to wait, and how to avoid FOMO

💡 Insider tips – navigating Bundesliga, Champions League Chrome, and World Cup Prism.

Fresh off the biggest National Sports Collectors Convention ever, Justin Wickizer (reporting from Austin) and Neil Rock (holding it down in Denver) return to In Cards We Trust for a jam-packed, no-holds-barred episode.

From wild wax rips and Jordan buybacks to the state of trade night, the repack bubble, and Panini’s checklist chaos—this one has it all. Justin shares stories straight from the show floor, including brokering the record-setting Messi 1/1 Green Kaboom and the sale of Caitlin Clark’s Gold Vinyl 1/1. Neil lays out his dream first-time National to-do list, and the duo debate a Logo Woman debate you didn’t see coming.

👟 PSA, ALT, and Fanatics FanFest vs. The National.

📦 Repacking: Bubble or Innovation?

💰 Grail Cards: Kobe/Jordan Dual Logoman, Ichiro Superfractor & more.

🖊️ Forgery scandals, patch swaps & grading trust.

In this deep-cut edition of In Cards We Trust, Neil and Justin peel back the layers of the hobby—exploring what’s real, what’s hyped, and what might be crumbling under the weight of a perfect PSA 10 slab. From golden tickets to greening Kobes, this one is a collector’s reality check.

💥 2025 Contenders Football – is the legacy fading?

🧪 The grading illusion – when slabs outshine the card

🌱 The greening of Kobe Chrome – value vs decay

🎟️ Golden Ticket nostalgia – Brady, Manning, Wilson

🐐 Anthony Edwards vs MJ – modern flip or future grail?

🖊️ Patch distrust and Panini’s big move

📬 Jerry West’s autograph story – a hilarious collector tale

💎 Papadasha parallels – rare gem or hobby gimmick?