Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was far and away the most popular women’s basketball player among collectors getting their trading cards graded this year, according to Professional Sports Authenticator. PSA says it has received roughly 42,000 Clark cards, nearly 20x the second highest WNBA player, Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.
On the high end, multiple rare Clark cards have sold for $75,000 and above, which is more than her base on-court salary this season.
“We’ve got a superstar in Caitlin Clark,” PSA president Ryan Hoge said. “It’s long overdue that the WNBA is getting more attention from collectors.”
Notably, the players seeing the second and third most grading activity (with a combined 6,000 submissions) are both in college: UConn guard Paige Bueckers and USC guard JuJu Watkins.
Exposure during March Madness led to record TV ratings for women’s basketball this spring, while NIL deals and print-on-demand products allow fans to purchase in-demand collectibles well before the release of an athlete’s official pro rookie card.
PSA grades card quality on a 1-10 scale and ensures collectibles’ authenticity. The evaluations can have a large effect on a card’s market value.
WNBA rookie Cameron Brink generated the fifth-most grading requests, rounding out a top five of players all under the age of 23. While it’s not uncommon for young players to generate the most sought-after cards (for context, Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama has sparked roughly 250,000 grading requests, Hoge said), the dominance of up-and-coming women’s hoopers follows a trend of the next generation drawing new eyeballs to the sport. A record 2.4 million viewers tuned into the WNBA Draft in April.
“I think it’s a lot of new collectors (getting women’s basketball cards graded),” Hoge said. “I think it’s a lot of new fans that are wanting to get closer to their favorite players, and collecting their cards is a way to get closer.”
However, the heralded rookies’ run could come to an end Wednesday. Brink was knocked out for the season with a knee injury, wrist surgery ended Reese’s year during the playoff hunt, and Clark’s Fever face elimination against the second-seeded Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night.
