Non-Sport Card Collectors Take Center Stage at the Poppy Awards
The Poppy Awards are a new, collector-driven effort designed to spotlight the best of non-sport and trading card games in 2025-from Pokémon and Marvel to Star Wars, wrestling, sketch cards, and pop-culture oddities that don’t always fit neatly into traditional hobby coverage.
Launched by Jesse Gibson, founder of the Hobby Nonsense podcast and the Non Sports Cards Nonsense Facebook group, the Poppies were created to answer a simple question: what did collectors actually enjoy most this year? Voting runs through December 29, with results debuting first on the Hobby Nonsense podcast on December 31 before rolling out across social channels in all 17 categories.
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Unlike many hobby awards that skew toward advertisers, breakers, or manufacturers, the Poppies are intentionally grassroots. Ballots live inside a community of more than 85,000 dedicated non-sport collectors, giving the results the feel of a true “collector’s choice” snapshot rather than a marketing-driven ranking.
Why the Poppies Make Sense Right Now
The timing couldn’t be better. By nearly every measurable indicator, non-sport and TCG have become one of the dominant forces in the hobby.
Third-party market analyses estimate that more than half of all graded cards in 2025 fall outside traditional sports, with roughly 7.2 million of 12.4 million total PSA slabs tied to Pokémon, TCG, and non-sport releases. Pokémon alone accounts for 97 of PSA’s 100 most-graded cards this year, underscoring just how much activity has shifted toward character- and game-based collecting.
That volume is matched by serious high-end demand. Vintage Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney cards have produced multiple five- and six-figure sales, including a 1977 Topps Star Wars #1 Luke Skywalker PSA 10 that sold for $268,400. eBay’s 2025 Collected trend report further confirms the shift, highlighting Pokémon, One Piece, Disney Lorcana, and Star Wars as some of the fastest-growing categories by searches and sales—part of a year that saw $248 million in trading card sales on eBay in September alone.
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A Structure That Reflects the Modern Hobby
The Poppy Awards’ 17 categories aren’t overkill; they’re a reflection of how fragmented and creative non-sport collecting has become. Pokémon, Star Wars, wrestling, history-based sets, anime, sketch cards, and direct-to-order releases all operate as distinct ecosystems, each with their own chase cards and collector culture.
Categories like “Non-Sport Cards in Sports Products,” direct-to-consumer releases, and a dedicated sketch artist honor highlight where much of the innovation actually lives, from Allen & Ginter oddities to Topps Chrome Disney inserts and hand-drawn art cards that often become the true long-term chase.
The Bigger 2025 Picture
The Poppy Awards arrive during a year defined by crossover appeal and creative experimentation. VeeFriends broadened its reach through a high-profile partnership with basketball superstar Stephen Curry, One Piece manga cards continued their breakout run, and Star Wars delivered a steady stream of collectible releases. At the same time, new entrants like Labubu found traction alongside classic franchises such as Batman, underscoring how expansive and flexible the non-sport space has become.
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At the same time, music, creator, and pop-culture cards are emerging as a “next wave,” filling the space between legacy franchises and traditional TCGs.
Taken together, the Poppy Awards function as something the hobby hasn’t really had before: a grassroots barometer of what resonated with true collectors in a year when non-sport and TCG went from side project to full-fledged second pillar. Not just what sold for the most — but what people genuinely enjoyed ripping, chasing, and collecting.
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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