Record Johnny Unitas SI Sale Was a Rare, Hugely Successful eBay Flip | Market Report 5.13.26
Plus: Sophomore "LaBron" on the cover of Ohio Roundball Prep, early Ohtanis cool off, an iconic Jackie Robinson portrait, and more
Note: Going forward, Market Reports will be published monthly, rather than weekly, freeing up more time for deep dives on specific topics. Thanks very much for reading!
Last week on Goldin, a high-grade copy of Johnny Unitas’ first Sports Illustrated cover sold for $37,210. Published in 1959 — the heart of SI’s “Dark Era”, as dubbed by longtime collector and historian John Wyllie — the Unitas is one of several key first covers that suffer from inferior paper and print techniques, making high-grade copies nearly impossible to find. This CGC 9.4 is the only copy to receive a grade above 8.5. It’s a pop that may never be topped.
The slab did not emerge from the locked vault of a whale collector. In fact, any one of us could have bid on the ungraded copy on eBay just three months ago, when it sold for $3,528.
That’s a steep price for any ungraded mag, especially when there’s no guarantee it arrives in the same condition shown in the listing photos. But the risk paid off handsomely for the seller, who received $30,500 from Goldin. Even after taxes, shipping, cleaning, pressing, and grading, that’s still a 7x or 8x return on investment in less than three months.
I believe quick-turnaround success stories like this one are good for our niche. Five- and six-figure sales prompt searches of attics and basements, bringing more vintage specimens to light. A healthy portion of the Unitas seller’s proceeds is likely to find its way back into sports magazines, which is good for all of us who sell almost as much as we buy.
If hordes of profit-seekers do descend, they’ll be met with the difficult reality of sports magazine hunting: Flips like this are incredibly rare.
Unlike trading cards and sneakers at their reselling peak, highly profitable new magazines aren’t “dropping” every month. The good stuff is really hard to find, requiring time searching, significant outlays of cash, and sometimes travel (to stranger’s garages). But there are opportunities for anyone with patience, a real interest, and some level of dedication to come up with a few nice flips that (hopefully) fund more purchases for their personal collections.
Top Sales
$37,210 CGC 9.4 Sports Illustrated Oct. 5, 1959 Johnny Unitas 1st cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$18,300 PSA 9.8 Sports Illustrated Oct. 28, 1996 Tiger Woods 1st cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
In March, a different PSA 9.8 sold for $21,960 on Goldin. At the time, it was a pop two in PSA’s census, now it’s a pop four.
$10,980 PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Dec. 28, 1987 Michael Jordan “Pictures ’87” *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$10,065 CGC 9.4 Weekly Baseball Dec. 14, 2011 Shohei Ohtani 1st cover (Goldin)
Confusingly, this is not a top pop, despite CGC’s census entry. There’s a CGC 9.6 with a separate entry. The 9.6 sold at Heritage in February 2023 for just $780. That buyer has to be thrilled seeing the recent developments in the Ohtani magazine market.
$8,540 PSA 9.8 Sports Illustrated May 15, 1989 Michael Jordan “Raging Bull” *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$7,686 PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Nov. 19, 2018 Patrick Mahomes 1st cover w/ PSA 10 auto *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$4,990 PSA 9.4 Quick Apr. 20, 1953 Mickey Mantle *Top Pop* (Goldin)
This mini mag auction likely sets a new record for Quick sales, besting a CGC 9.6 copy of Jackie Robinson’s cover that sold for $3,703 in March.
$3,687 PSA 8.0 Dell Basketball Feb. 1960 Wilt Chamberlain w/ Jerry West inset *Top Pop* (Goldin)
Here’s a result really stuck out to me. While this Dell Basketball was published a year and a half before Wilt’s first SI, it’s not his earliest magazine cover (that distinction belongs to the gorgeous January 1957 SPORT) nor is it even his first (or best-looking) Dell cover. Over the last year, then-top pop copies of those two issues have failed to come within $1,000 of this number. I suspect we’ll see them surface at Goldin again, likely in fresh PSA holders.
$2,867 CGC 9.2 Sports Album Jun. 2014 Shohei Ohtani *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$2,806 PSA 9.2 Standard: Iwate Sports Special Edition Feb. 2017 Shohei Ohtani *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$2,074 CGC 6.5 The Ring Oct. 1962 Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) 1st cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
This final price may have suffered from potential buyers exiting the market after recent purchases of a PSA 6.5 for $3,098 and a CGC 6.5 for $2,769.
$2,014 Home Run March 2012 Shohei Ohtani (JDirectItems)
When writing this article a month ago, I couldn’t find any copies of this Home Run issue — likely Ohtani’s first solo appearance on the cover of any magazine — for sale on Japanese auction sites. Last week, four sold for between $1,000 and $2,014 each, and a fifth is available for the low, low price of $10,000. I didn’t buy any of them, so I’m curious to see if any show up in CGC’s or PSA’s pop reports, or if the issues are too thick to fit into slabs.
$2,000† CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Dec. 28, 1987 Michael Jordan “Pictures ’87” (eBay)
$1,975† CGC 9.0 Sports Illustrated Sept. 29, 1980 Muhammad Ali (eBay)
$1,586 PSA 8.5 Weekly Baseball Jan. 30, 2012 Shohei Ohtani 1st cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$1,375 CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Feb. 18, 1985 Wayne Gretzky (Goldin)
$1,122 Home Run March 2012 Shohei Ohtani (JDirectItems)
$1,067 Home Run March 2012 Shohei Ohtani (Mercari Japan)
$1,017 Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 Shohei Ohtani 1st cover (JDirectItems)
$1,000 Home Run March 2012 Shohei Ohtani (JDirectItems)
†Price confirmed via 130point.
Other Notable Sales
$927 PSA 8.0 Sports Illustrated June 18, 1956 Mickey Mantle 1st cover (Subscription) (Goldin)
$917 PSA 7.5 Sports Graphic Number #865 Nov. 27, 2014 Shohei Ohtani (Goldin)
$850† PSA 9.8 SLAM Dec. 2025-Jan. 2026 Gold Metal /94 LeBron James (eBay)
$795† PSA 9.0 Sports Illustrated Nov. 14, 1983 Dan Marino 1st cover
$788 PSA 9.0 Sports Illustrated Oct. 28, 1996 Tiger Woods 1st cover (eBay)
$714 PSA 9.2 TIME Jun. 22, 1998 Michael Jordan (Goldin)
$677 CGC 8.5 Sports Illustrated July 27, 1970 Willie Mays “Say Hey 3000!” (Goldin)
$660 PSA 5.0 Sports Illustrated China Mar. 19, 2010 Cristiano Ronaldo (Goldin)
$610 CGC 8.5 Weekly Baseball Jul. 1, 2012 Shohei Ohtani *Top Pop* (Goldin)
Shohei’s Where’s Waldo? sizing here have dampened interest in a issue that was published earlier than others that have sold for much more.
$610 CGC 9.9 SLAM #257 Aug.-Sep. 2025 Gold Metal /94 Amen Thompson 1st cover *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$559 PSA 5.0 Sports Illustrated China Apr. 27, 2007 Cristiano Ronaldo *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$575 Home Run July 2012 Shohei Ohtani (JDirectItems)
$509† PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Mar. 20, 1995 Michael Jordan (eBay)
$470 CGC 5.5 Sports Illustrated July 23, 1984 Michael Jordan (Subscription) (Goldin)
$437 PSA 9.0 Fighters Magazine #68 Nov. 1, 2016 Shohei Ohtani (Goldin)
$427 PSA 9.2 Baseball Clinic Oct. 2021 Shohei Ohtani *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$400 CGC 9.0 Sports Illustrated May 7, 1990 Ken Griffey Jr. 1st cover (eBay)
$397 PSA 4.5 Sports Technology Magazine 2009 LeBron James/Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$356 PSA 8.5 Fighters Press #14 Sept. 19. 2015 Shohei Ohtani *Top Pop* (Goldin)
$355 Sports Illustrated June 10, 1963 Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) 1st cover (Subscription) (eBay)
$336 CGC 9.4 Sports Illustrated Jun. 1, 1987 Wayne Gretzky (Goldin)
$255 PSA 9.4 Sports Illustrated Apr. 16, 2001 Tiger Woods “Masterpiece”
$249† PSA 7.5 SLAM Feb. 1997 NBA Rookies, Kobe Bryant 1st cover
$234 CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Jun. 6, 1994 Ken Griffey Jr. (Goldin)
Less than $100 Thirty-sevel graded sports magazines in Goldin’s Weekly Auction
Sending your slab to Goldin is no guarantee of riches. Week after week, bargains are had for mid-grade first covers and really cool pieces that just don’t drive much demand.
†Price confirmed via 130point.
Auctions Ending This Week
eBay
Fri. 5/15 at 5:23pm ET: Ebony June 1948 Jackie Robinson 1st cover
One of Jackie’s earliest covers, this museum-worthy Ebony is a piece of American history, chronicling Jackie’s amateur accomplishments across several sports and Jackie himself telling the story of how he laughed when approached by a Dodgers scout. “We all got a big kick out of it,” Jackie writes. “The possibility of a Big League scout spending his time looking at Negro players was nothing but a joke.”
There is apparently an alternate version of this cover, with a Jackie quote in the red box rather than a more direct teaser for his article.
Unfortunately for the slab-minded, it measures 10 1/8 in. wide and 13 1/4 in. tall, rendering it ineligible for grading.
Sun. 5/17 at 8:15pm ET: PSA 9.6 SLAM Apr.-May 2025 Gold Metal /94 Cade Cunningham
Seller CoolCard_Collector has eight early Shohei Ohtani slabs listed, including two that have never come up for sale before. The Buy It Now prices are eye-watering, but they are technically available.
Goldin
Ninety-three slabs are available in Goldin’s Weekly Auction ending Thursday, May 14 at 10pm ET. Selected highlights below:
Michael Jordan
CGC 8.0 PSA Magazine Jan. 2023 Michael Jordan /500 variant
Jean McLeod, co-creator of some of the most iconic ’90s trading card inserts, designed this short print cover for a PSA Magazine that included a feature article chronicling her career. It might be my favorite magazine cover to release in the last several years, and I’m not even a Jordan guy.
CGC 9.8 Beckett Basketball Card Monthly Mar./Apr. 1990 Premier Issue Michael Jordan *Top Pop*
PSA 9.4 Sports Illustrated June 10, 1991 Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan *Top PSA Pop*
PSA 8.0 Sports Illustrated for Kids Jan. 1989 Premier Issue Michael Jordan
PSA 9.4 Newsweek July 6, 1992 Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson “Dream Team”
PSA 7.0 NBA Today ’84 Draft Guide Akeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan *Top PSA Pop*
CGC 9.2 SLAM July 1995 Michael Jordan 1st cover
LeBron James
PSA 6.5 Ohio Roundball Prep Spring 2001 LeBron James
This newsprint Ohio Roundball Prep periodical (not program, as noted in the Goldin description) predates LeBron’s Sports Illustrated debut by nearly a year, covering “LaBron” leading St. Vincent-St. Mary to their second-straight Division III Ohio state title. The sophomore had 25 points, 10 rebounds (9 offensive!), 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block in 32 minutes in the championship game. It was probably the last time any publication misspelled his name.
PSA 9.8 Sports Illustrated Feb. 18, 2002 LeBron James 1st cover
A PSA 9.8 copy of this issue sold for $3,965 in March.
Out of 70 newsstand copies graded by PSA, just seven are 9.8s (10%), while 53 of the 395 newsstands in CGC’s census are top pops (14.5%). PSA could be grading this issue tougher than CGC, or CGC — by virtue of having been grading magazines for so much longer — has received a higher percentage of pristine copies held in collections.
CGC 7.5 SLAM Aug. 2002 LeBron James, Sebastian Telfair 1st covers
CGC 7.5 SLAM Aug. 2003 LeBron James 1st solo cover
LeBron’s first two SLAM covers in the same grade are up for auction at the same time. The ’02 cover with Sebastian Telfair is much tougher to find in good condition, but the ’03 solo cover is probably more desirable among collectors. It will be interesting to see if there’s a significant price difference between the two.
PSA 9.2 Student Sports Nov. 2001 LeBron James 1st cover
PSA 9.8 OHSAA State Basketball Championship Program Mar. 13, 2002 LeBron James *Top Pop*
SLAM
CGC 9.2 SLAM Feb. 1997 NBA Rookies; Kobe Bryant 1st cover
PSA 6.5 SLAM Presents Kicks 2001 Kobe Bryant
PSA 10 SLAM Dec. 2025/Jan. 2026 Gold Metal /94 Azzi Fudd 1st solo cover *Top Pop*
Azzi’s rough WNBA debut shouldn’t slow demand for this gold label on a Gold Metal in her first solo SLAM.
PSA 9.8 SLAM Apr./May 2025 Gold Metal /94 Luka Doncic
CGC 9.6 SLAM Feb./Mar. 2025 Gold Metal /94 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
CGC 9.6 SLAM Apr./May 2024 Gold Metal /94 Anthony Edwards
CGC 9.8 SLAM Jun./Jul. 2023 Gold Metal /94 FIBA (SGA, Luka, Wemby, Giannis, Jokic)
CGC 9.2 SLAM Aug./Sep. 2021 Anthony Edwards 1st cover
All other basketball
CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated May 13, 2013 Stephen Curry 1st cover
In CGC’s census, this is a pop 13 with 27 higher.
PSA 9.4 Sports Illustrated June 2025 Caitlin Clark 1st cover
CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Feb. 2023 Nikola Jokic 1st cover
PSA 9.2 Sports Illustrated Nov. 1, 2021 Trae Young/Luka Doncic 1st covers
As far as collectibles are concerned, the shine is off both these guys to a certain degree. Trae starts fresh with AD next year in D.C., while Luka was forced to watch the Lakers’ playoff run from the sidelines.
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated for Kids May 1999 Kobe Bryant 1st cover
PSA 9.0 SPORTSfever Winter 1997 Kobe Bryant *Top PSA Pop*
I understand the appeal of this cover, an action photo of a high school-aged Kobe going for a finger roll en route to a state title. But it’s a preview for the 1997 Pennsylvania state tournament, so it was published while Kobe was in the middle of his rookie season in the NBA. He’d already been on the cover of Philadelphia’s The Fan the year prior, and by the time this SPORTSfever came out, maybe SLAM as well.
PSA 5.5 Sports Illustrated Nov. 19, 1986 David Robinson 1st cover *Top PSA Pop*
CGC 8.5 Sports Illustrated May 31, 1982 Julius Erving
This is an awesome cover that will likely show up in next month’s sub-$100 blurb.
Baseball
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Aug. 27, 2012 Mike Trout 1st cover *Top PSA Pop*
In 2020, Mike Trout’s Bowman Chrome Draft superfractor auto sold for nearly $4 million, setting the record as the highest-selling sports card at the time. Injuries have since derailed his GOAT arc, but he’s healthy now, and currently on pace for the type of season we haven’t seen since his mid-20s prime.
CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated Oct. 16, 1995 Ken Griffey Jr. *Top Pop*
PSA 4.0 Sports Illustrated June 18, 1956 Mickey Mantle 1st cover (Newsstand)
Shohei Ohtani
PSA 6.5 Weekly Baseball May 21, 2012
PSA 7.5 Fighters Magazine Nov. 1, 2015
PSA 7.5 Weekly Baseball Dec. 25, 2017 *Top Pop*
CGC 6.5 Sports Illustrated Mar. 26, 2018 1st cover w/ Mike Trout
CGC 9.2 Weekly Baseball Dec. 6, 2021 *Top Pop*
Other sports
PSA 9.4 Sports Illustrated July 7, 1997 Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield
Tyson is somewhat of a sympathetic figure now, the friendly, giggly (former) podcaster who occasionally agrees to be humiliated by YouTubers for money. But in the mid-’90s, “the baddest man on the planet” reached his chaotic public nadir in his rematch with Evander Holyfield. In the third round, Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear not once, but twice, causing a chunk of cartilage to go bouncing around the canvas. After this moment, nothing he did could shock us.
CGC 9.6 Sports Illustrated May 30, 1988 Wayne Gretzky *Top Pop*
PSA 9.4 Sports Illustrated Apr. 16, 2001 Tiger Woods “Masterpiece”
If this auction settles in the $800-$1,000 range, I think we can safely dismiss that $4,700 sale a few weeks ago as a drunk blip rather than a sign of increasing demand for Tiger covers.
PSA 9.4 Sports Illustrated Aug. 28, 2000 Tiger Woods *Top PSA Pop*
PSA 9.6 Sports Illustrated Aug. 23, 2004 Michael Phelps *Top Pop*
PSA 7.0 Sports Illustrated Sept. 26, 1977 Roberto Duran 1st cover *Top Pop*
Heritage
CGC 9.2 Sports Illustrated Dec. 10, 1984 Michael Jordan “A Star Is Born” (Subscription)
Mercari Japan and JDirectItems (via Buyee)
Early Shohei Ohtani magazines continue to surface on Japanese auction sites, driving asking prices down from just a few weeks ago. Nearly two dozen such covers are available either at auction or for instant purchase via Buyee:
Thu. 5/15 at 5:15am ET: Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 1st cover (min. bid $1,334)
Thu. 5/15 at 5:33am ET: Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 and Weekly Baseball Spring Special Issue February 2012 (min. bid $1,334)
Thu. 5/15 at 7:00am ET: Baseball Clinic December 2012 1st cover
Fri. 5/16 at 5:45am ET: Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 1st cover (min. bid $1,465)
Sat. 5/17 at 7:58am ET: Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 1st cover (min. bid $2,331)
Sat. 5/17 at 8:02am ET: Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 1st cover (min. bid $2,331)
Listings available for instant purchase (prices subject to change with exchange rates):
$13,320 The 94th National High School Baseball Championship Iwate Tournament Official Brochure
A late addition to our early Ohtani covers rundown, this tournament program was distributed inside Hanamaki Stadium during the Iwate prefectural qualifier for the 94th National Championship.
$9,990 Home Run March 2012 1st cover
$7,992 Weekly Baseball Spring Special Issue #285
$6,660 Baseball Kid December 2012 1st cover
$2,863 Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 1st cover
$1,465 Hochi High School Baseball March 2012 1st cover
$999 Hochi High School Baseball November 2012
$532 Home Run November 2012
$518 Weekly Baseball Nov. 12, 2012
$513 Weekly Baseball Nov. 12, 2012
$399 Weekly Baseball Oct. 29, 2012
$368 Weekly Baseball Oct. 29, 2012
$300 Weekly Baseball Sept. 24, 2012
$266 Shine, Koshien Stars March 2012 1st cover
$30 Shine, Koshien Stars November 2012
Issues of Shine, Koshien Stars measure about 9.5” by 11.5” and are too large to fit in CGC or PSA slabs.
Release Radar: Christian Pulisic on the cover of TIME
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If you’ve been priced out of astronomical World Cup game tickets, $9.99 plus shipping for Christian Pulisic’s first TIME cover is decent consolation.
High-grade copies of Pulisic’s first Sports Illustrated cover — one he shares with USMNT teammates Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams — are available for less than $150 on eBay.
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