Paul Skenes Reacts to Massive Bounty Pirates Offered for His Rookie Card

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The Pittsburgh Pirates put out a huge offer for the lucky person who finds Paul Skenes's one-of-a-kind rookie debut patch autograph card hiding in Topps' Chrome Update product.
If the collector who pulls the card delivers it to the Pirates, they'll receive two season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years, a softball game for 30 people at PNC Park, a spring training experience including a meet-and-greet with Skenes complete with two of his autographed jerseys, amongst other unique experiences.
To the lucky person who finds this card… We’d love to bring this card home to PNC Park to share with all Buccos fans.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 15, 2024
Here’s our offer: https://t.co/qSDgZg3C8p pic.twitter.com/efNGhjidQ4
Skenes's girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, then upped the bounty by offering to host the person who finds the card in her suite for a game. Seth Meyers, a Pittsburgh fan, offered VIP tickets to Late Night With Seth Meyers if the finder just let him look at the card.
Skenes himself chimed in on the unique offers for the card.
The Pirates posted a video on social media Monday of Skenes opening a box of Chrome Update. He was confident he'd end the chase and pull the card himself.
Paul didn't pull it, @Topps.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 18, 2024
The chase continues. https://t.co/ypkPe51TLH pic.twitter.com/jyU1r8XKJg
Well, that didn't happen. The card is still out there and Skenes is excited to meet the person who brings it to Pittsburgh (if they choose to do so, of course).
"I was really upset I didn't find the card," Skenes joked in an appearance on SportsCenter. "It's a cool opportunity and hopefully it'll unite a lot of people around pulling cards. It's cool, I'm looking forward to meeting the person who actually pulls the card."
When asked if he wanted to throw anything into the deal himself to sweeten the pot even more, Skenes replied "I think it's pretty sweet already."
“I was really upset I didn’t find the card.” 😆
— Topps (@Topps) November 19, 2024
Paul Skenes reacts to the trade offer on his MLB Debut Patch card…(via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/sHxhFcNEWd
The chase continues. And the card became even more valuable when Skenes was officially announced as the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday night.
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Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.
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