8 Must-See Winning Bids From PSA Vault’s Super Bowl Spotlight Auction
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When the PSA Vault Super Bowl Spotlight Auction closed on eBay, it delivered exactly what the format promises: a concentrated snapshot of the hobby at its highest levels, where history, scarcity, and personal provenance collide. Spread across vintage icons, modern superstars, high-end trading card games, and personal player collections, the final results reinforced why PSA’s Spotlight Auctions have quickly become appointment viewing during major sports moments.
Maxey Final Sale: $5,100
Rather than chasing every result, the most telling story came from a handful of cornerstone sales—the kinds of cards and memorabilia that define eras and anchor collections. Let’s take a look at some of the winning bids across the auction.
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Player-Owned Provenance Takes Center Stage
At the heart of the auction were cards and memorabilia directly from the personal collections of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Eli Manning—a level of provenance that’s almost impossible to replicate in traditional auctions.
These weren’t just signed items or premium cards; they were artifacts with a clear chain of ownership back to the players who defined the modern NFL. That context consistently pushed bidding beyond what similar items might command elsewhere, reinforcing one of the central ideas behind the PSA Vault and Spotlight format: narrative matters. Collectors weren’t simply buying condition and rarity; they were buying access to history.
2016 Classic Clashed Final Sale: $32,211
TB 12 Pats Eagles Auto Ticket Final Sale: $6102
Basketball Royalty Still Brings a Premium
Vintage basketball remained one of the auction’s strongest pillars, led by the enduring gravity of Michael Jordan. Jordan rookies continue to function as hobby blue-chip assets, and their presence in the auction served as a reminder that certain cards transcend market cycles. Even decades removed from his final game, Jordan’s cardboard still anchors serious collections.
That same sense of historical weight carried over to one of the hobby’s most unusual and beloved cards: the 1980–81 Bird/Magic rookie, also featuring Dr. J. It remains a cardboard time capsule from the moment the NBA entered its modern era. High-grade examples are notoriously difficult, and the card’s strong finish underscored its place as one of the most historically dense pieces in basketball collecting.
1986-87 Fleer Jordan Rookie Final Sale: $46,600
Topps 1980 Scoring Leads Final Sale: $16,600
Gretzky, Mahomes, and Mantle: Blue-Chip Investments
The auction also delivered standout moments from two sports where legacy carries enormous weight. A classic Wayne Gretzky rookie reminded collectors why Wayne Gretzky remains the gold standard in hockey, not just as a player, but as a statistical anomaly whose records still feel untouchable.
1979 Gretzky Rookie Final Sale: $30,200
On the baseball side, a high-grade 1966 Mickey Mantle closed strong, reaffirming Mickey Mantle’s role as one of the most bankable names in vintage collecting. Mantle’s late-career cards don’t always get the same attention as his early Topps issues, but condition-sensitive examples like this one continue to draw serious interest from advanced collectors.
1965 Mantle Final Sale: $21,766
Alongside those vintage pillars, Patrick Mahomes represents the modern equivalent of a hobby cornerstone. In less than a decade, Mahomes has compressed a Hall of Fame résumé into his prime years, pairing multiple MVPs and Super Bowl titles with a style of play that already feels era-defining.
Mahomes 2017 Final Sale: $55,100
Pokémon Still Commands the Spotlight
One of the most revealing results came from the non-sports side of the auction. A high-end Pokémon card, anchored by the enduring popularity of Pokémon and its iconic Mewtwo stood comfortably alongside Hall of Fame athletes in both attention and final price.
1999 Pokemon Base Final Sale: $60
Its performance reinforced a broader trend: elite TCG cards now compete on the same stage as vintage sports icons, especially when they represent foundational moments from the late 1990s hobby boom.
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Why the Spotlight Format Works
Taken together, the final sales offered a clean snapshot of how collectors are thinking right now. The PSA Vault and Spotlight Auction structure — with secure storage, clear provenance, and a curated, time-boxed presentation — encourages confidence at the top end of the market. It’s not just about what’s rare, but why it matters.
From player-owned NFL memorabilia to Jordan and Gretzky rookies, from Mantle vintage to Pokémon grails, the Super Bowl Spotlight Auction didn’t just close strong, it tied together multiple generations of collecting under one roof. And, to make it even more special, the final hour featured an eBay Live livestream with Sports Cards Nonsense's Mike Gioseffi, PSA's Justin Wickizer, current NFL star Aaron Jones, and former NFL stars Steve Smith Sr. and Antonio Pierece. Audiences can watch back the livestream here, which featured tons of great stories and commentary from all five of the hosts.
Lucas Mast is a writer based in California’s Bay Area, where he’s a season ticket holder for St. Mary’s basketball and a die-hard Stanford athletics fan. A lifelong collector of sneakers, sports cards, and pop culture, he also advises companies shaping the future of the hobby and sports. He’s driven by a curiosity about why people collect—and what those items reveal about the moments and memories that matter most.
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