Justin Steele on Why the Cubs Have the Best Clubhouse for Collecting

The Chicago Cubs are living the dream.

Not only are they cruising to the playoffs with one of the best records in baseball, but they also have a superfractor-level hobby situation at their doorstep.

A CardVault by Tom Brady location opened directly across the street from Wrigley Field in August 2025, a move that former All-Star pitcher Justin Steele says has supercharged the Cubs' involvement in the hobby.

"We'll just send a clubbie over there with some cash for everybody to rip and stuff; it's super easy," Steele told the Sports Cards Nonsense podcast on Monday.

Cubs' clubhouse rips include sports, Pokémon and ... SpongeBob?

There's never a shortage of boxes and packs in the Cubs' clubhouse, according to Steele.

Most players rip sports cards -- Steele says baseball and football are the top choices -- while some are into Pokémon and other non-sports.

"Every now and then, someone's just bringing in a box, and we'll have them in the middle of the locker room," Steele said. "People will grab a pack here and there and rip it."

Steele's main collecting these days isn't sports cards -- he is big into UFC -- but rather non-sports.

He's a SpongeBob guy and says he rips packs in the locker room with fellow pitchers Jack Neely and Gavin Hollowell.

"Check out the market, I mean the SpongeBob market is on fire," Steele said.

Justin Steele is just like us -- a card collector since childhood

It's certainly possible Steele is the ringleader of the hobby for the Cubs.

Growing up in rural east Mississippi, Steele said he, his dad, and his brother would go to the flea market in nearby Mobile, Alabama, to satisfy their hobby cravings.

Steele, who was born in 1995, collected Bo Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., and Chipper Jones.

He fell out of the hobby as he grew up but became reinvigorated in 2020 when the baseball season was interrupted during the pandemic.

Since then, his love for the hobby has grown as much as his collection.

Steele estimates he has nearly 1,000 slabs in the PSA Vault, including loads of Tom Brady and Drew Brees pieces.

At home, he has two full picture frames with his autographed cards which he's had graded.

Now, that collection includes the best Steele card in existence.

He made a trade at Wrigley Field before a game in early August with the collector who owned his 2014 Bowman First Superfractor.

Big day for me. Acquired my best card in existence; along with 2 other bangers to go with it. All thanks to @allthecubs 🙏🏻 true gentlemen in the hobby and so happy he was kind enough to get a deal done with me. Super cool moment. Collecting in the hobby has truly made me feel… pic.twitter.com/kcRLlHc68I
— Justin Steele (@J_Steele21) August 2, 2026

"Collecting in the hobby has truly made me feel like a kid again in ways that you just can’t explain," Steele said in a post announcing the acquisition. "Can’t wait to pass these down to my children."

Steele hasn't pitched in the majors since April 2025 due to an elbow injury, but is nearing his return.

That, plus the postseason right around the corner, might slow the clubhouse rips in the short term.

Let's just hope Steele and the Cubs are holding their 2026 Topps Chrome Baseball cards from teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong for the buyback program in case he wins National League MVP.

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