Fanatics Collect Weekly Auction #238: Tecmo Bowl Nostalgia Takes Center Stage

Press start.

This week’s Fanatics Collect auction brings something different to the lineup, with a large collection built around one of football gaming’s most memorable eras.

Our Fanatics Collect Weekly Auction #238 is live, featuring 59 Arthur’s Cards & Collectibles listings led by 34 cards from the 2026 Bo Jackson Battle Arena Tecmo Bowl release.

The collection includes base cards, First Edition cards, Battlefoils, Hot Dogs, and an assortment of retro-inspired specialty treatments such as Scoreboard, Tecmo News, Sore Thumb, 80’s 8-Bit Rad, Skyline, Silver, Red, and Logofoil.

Condition is another major strength of the group. Thirty of the 34 Battle Arena cards earned a CGC 10 grade, led by a Sore Thumb Battlefoil BrockNess (Brock Bowers) that received the elevated CGC 10 Pristine designation.

Beyond the Battle Arena collection, this week’s lineup includes a serial-numbered Jordan Love jersey card, rookies of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Brock Bowers, and Xavier Worthy, a 1994 Flair Alex Rodriguez rookie, two additional CGC 10 Pristine soccer cards, and stars including Patrick Mahomes, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Barry Bonds, and Cal Ripken Jr.

Extended bidding begins Sunday, August 9 at 7pm AZ.

---

Now Live on Fanatics Collect

Auction: Weekly Sunday Auction #238
Ends: Sunday, August 9, 2026
Extended bidding starts: 7pm AZ
Platform: Fanatics Collect website or app
Format: Auction bidding

Mobile note: Fanatics Collect links may open in the Fanatics Collect app. If the app opens to the main auction page instead of the specific card, return to this page in your browser and tap the listing again after the app has loaded.

---

Arthur’s Picks This Week

Bo Jackson Battle Arena Tecmo Bowl Collection

The centerpiece of Auction #238 is an extensive 34-card collection from the 2026 Bo Jackson Battle Arena Tecmo Bowl release.

Battle Arena occupies an unusual space within the hobby by combining character-driven trading cards, playable game elements, professional-athlete inspiration, and the chase appeal of a traditional sports card product. The Tecmo Bowl release adds another layer through its arcade-era football theme and retro-inspired designs.

This collection offers a broad look at the release, with 11 First Edition cards, 22 cards carrying some form of Battlefoil treatment, and three Hot Dogs.

Several Heroes also appear in multiple formats. Collectors can compare base and Battlefoil versions of Jeanetic, inspired by Ashton Jeanty; McArmyKnife, inspired by Christian McCaffrey; and Switchblade, inspired by Travis Hunter. Merlomes, the Battle Arena alter ego inspired by Patrick Mahomes, appears as both a standard Battlefoil and a Skyline Battlefoil.

BrockNess, inspired by Brock Bowers, has the deepest run in the group. He appears on a base card graded CGC 9.5, a standard Battlefoil graded CGC 10, and the collection’s top-graded Sore Thumb Battlefoil.

The variety gives set builders, Battle Arena players, football collectors, and fans of retro gaming several different ways to approach the auction.

Sore Thumb Battlefoil BrockNess

The standout card from the Battle Arena collection is the 2026 Tecmo Bowl Sore Thumb Battlefoil BrockNess.

The Sore Thumb treatment embraces the old-school video-game theme with a design that feels distinctly different from a conventional sports card parallel. It is also the only card from the 34-card Battle Arena collection to earn the higher CGC 10 Pristine grade.

That combination of a specialty Battlefoil treatment, one of the release’s recognizable football-inspired characters, and the elevated grade makes it the natural centerpiece of the collection.

View Brockness Sore Thumb Battlefoil listing

Skyline, Scoreboard, and Glow Battlefoils

Three Battlefoils highlight the different designs and rarity elements found throughout the Tecmo Bowl release.

Merlomes, inspired by Patrick Mahomes, appears with the colorful Skyline treatment, while Amigo One, inspired by Mark Jackson, features the retro Scoreboard design. Both treatments are listed among the Double Mega configuration’s case-level chases.

Bison, inspired by Josh Allen, is a Battlefoil featuring the Glow weapon type. Battle Arena classifies Glow as an Ultra Rare weapon class, placing it above the more common Steel and Brawl categories, although an exact print run has not been published for this unsigned card.

Together, the three cards showcase how Tecmo Bowl combines specialty foil treatments with Battle Arena’s weapon-based rarity system. All three received CGC 10 Gem Mint grades.

• View Merlomes Skyline Battlefoil listing

• View Amigo One Scoreboard Battlefoil listing

• View Bison Glow Battlefoil listing

First Edition Tecmo Bowl Cards

This week’s collection also includes several First Edition cards, led by Hot Sauce, Skatter, and Chanesaw.

Hot Sauce, inspired by Sauce Gardner, appears on a First Edition Logofoil graded CGC 10 Gem Mint. The Logofoil treatment gives it additional visual appeal while the First Edition designation connects it to the earliest version of the card.

Skatter, inspired by Cam Skattebo, appears on a First Edition Battlefoil graded CGC 9.5 Mint+. Chanesaw, inspired by De’Von Achane, represents the base-card side of the group with a First Edition card graded CGC 10 Gem Mint.

Together, the three cards give collectors a look at how the First Edition designation appears across a base card, a Battlefoil, and a Logofoil.

• View Hot Sauce First Edition Logofoil

• View Skatter First Edition Battlefoil

• View Chanesaw First Edition

Alex Rodriguez Flair Rookie

The most recognizable traditional baseball rookie in the auction is the 1994 Flair Alex Rodriguez #340, graded CGC 10 Gem Mint.

Flair was one of the premium baseball releases of the mid-1990s, pairing glossy card stock with full-bleed photography and a more upscale presentation than many mainstream products of the era.

Rodriguez appeared across several 1994 releases, but the Flair card remains an attractive option for collectors who prefer premium designs over the more common flagship-style rookies.

Receiving a CGC 10 grade adds another layer of appeal to a card that is now more than three decades old.

View Alex Rodriguez listing

Jordan Love Blue Numbered to 50

The 2023 Absolute Star Gazing Spectrum Blue Jordan Love is one of the more limited traditional football cards in this week’s auction.

Serial-numbered 10/50 and graded CGC 10 Gem Mint, the card combines a low-numbered parallel with one of the NFL’s more closely followed quarterbacks.

The Spectrum Blue design also gives the card a distinctive look, while the print run of only 50 copies adds a clear scarcity element for Jordan Love and Packers collectors.

View Jordan Love listing

Finest Soccer Trio

Three cards from the 2025 Finest UEFA Club Competitions lead this week’s soccer group.

Kylian Mbappé appears on a Shadow Play insert graded CGC 10 Pristine, while Gareth Bale’s Prized Footballers insert also received the elevated Pristine designation. They are two of only three CGC 10 Pristine cards in the entire auction.

The third card is a Purple Checkerboard Refractor of Mohamed Salah. Although graded CGC 9 Mint rather than Pristine, the card is serial-numbered to 150 and provides the clearest scarcity element of the three.

Together, the cards combine two elite grades, one numbered parallel, three internationally recognizable players, and three of Finest’s more visually distinctive designs.

• View Kylian Mbappé Shadow Play listing

• View Gareth Bale Prized Footballers listing

• View Mohamed Salah Purple /150 listing

---

Battle Arena Highlights

The 34-card Bo Jackson Battle Arena collection accounts for more than half of this week’s auction lineup and brings together fictional Heroes inspired by both current NFL stars and recognizable players from earlier generations.

The modern-player lineup includes BrockNess (Brock Bowers), Jeanetic (Ashton Jeanty), Judkernaught (Quinshon Judkins), Skatter (Cam Skattebo), Switchblade (Travis Hunter), Quads (Saquon Barkley), Brawn (A.J. Brown), Bison (Josh Allen), Merlomes (Patrick Mahomes), Yeti (Travis Kelce), Warp (Lamar Jackson), McArmyKnife (Christian McCaffrey), Chanesaw (De’Von Achane), Eagle-Eye (Jalen Hurts), DeVaulta (DeVonta Smith), Scary (Terry McLaurin), Reindeer Hunter (Myles Garrett), and Hot Sauce (Sauce Gardner).

Several Heroes are inspired by players closely associated with the original Tecmo Bowl era. Those include Amigo One (Mark Jackson), Watterslide (Ricky Watters), Dentist (Richard Dent), Majik Man (Don Majkowski), Boom (Boomer Esiason), Rockhead (Chris Doleman), and Joe Cool (Joe Montana).

In addition to the featured BrockNess Sore Thumb Battlefoil, specialty treatments include an 80’s 8-Bit Rad Battlefoil Dentist, a Tecmo News Battlefoil Majik Man, a Scoreboard Battlefoil Amigo One, a Skyline Battlefoil Merlomes, a Silver Battlefoil Boom, and Red Battlefoils of Watterslide and Rockhead.

The group also includes 11 cards designated as First Edition or 1st Edition. Among them are Battlefoils of Judkernaught, Quads, Joe Cool, and Skatter, along with base cards of Chanesaw and DeVaulta.

Three Hot Dogs add another part of the Tecmo Bowl checklist to the collection: Dirty Water Dan, Scotty Skates, and Hotshot Hank.

Collectors interested in building character runs can also follow multiple versions of BrockNess, Jeanetic, Merlomes, McArmyKnife, and Switchblade throughout the auction.

---

Football Highlights

Ten traditional football cards accompany the Battle Arena collection.

The group is led by the featured Jordan Love Spectrum Blue jersey card numbered to 50, along with a Red & Blue Shock Prizm of Patrick Mahomes II.

The 2024 rookie class is represented by Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Brock Bowers, and Xavier Worthy. Williams and Maye each received CGC 10 Gem Mint grades, while the Bowers Green Wave Prizm and Worthy Silver Prizm offer parallel alternatives to their standard rookie cards.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba appears twice, giving collectors a choice between a 2023 Illusions Funkadelic Emerald rookie graded CGC 9 and a Prizm Draft Picks Green rookie graded CGC 10.

The football group is completed by Select die-cut cards of Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith.

---

Soccer Highlights

Seven soccer cards provide a mix of current stars, retired favorites, inserts, parallels, and high grades.

Beyond the featured Mbappé, Bale, and Salah cards, the lineup includes Lionel Messi on a 2023 Donruss FIFA Cubic parallel and Erling Haaland on a Finest of the Millennium insert graded CGC 10 Gem Mint.

Julián Álvarez joins Bale in the Prized Footballers insert set, while Paul Pogba appears on a 2025 Finest UEFA Club Competitions card graded CGC 10.

With six of the seven cards coming from Finest UEFA Club Competitions, this section offers a particularly cohesive group for collectors who enjoy chromium soccer products.

---

Baseball Highlights

Eight baseball cards round out this week’s auction.

Along with the featured Alex Rodriguez Flair rookie, the group includes a 2024 Panini Stars & Stripes Trey Yesavage rookie graded CGC 10, a 2025 Topps ’90 Will Warren rookie autograph graded CGC 9.5, and a 2024 Bowman Arjun Nimmala prospect card graded CGC 10.

Established stars and Hall of Famers include Larry Walker, Cal Ripken Jr., Barry Bonds, Mike Schmidt, and Bryce Harper.

The Schmidt and Harper card uses Topps Chrome Platinum’s ’55 Double Headers design to place two generations of Philadelphia stars on the same card, while the Bonds Hot Numbers insert represents the bold premium designs associated with mid-1990s Flair.

---

Complete Auction Checklist

Click any button below to view the live Fanatics Collect auction listing.

On mobile, scroll sideways to view the full checklist.

Bo Jackson Battle Arena Tecmo Bowl

Traditional Sports Cards

More Auctions Coming Each Week

We’re continuing to move new graded cards, private-collection pieces, consignments, and collector-focused slabs through Fanatics Collect weekly auctions.

Check back each week for the newest auction guide, Arthur’s Picks, completed auction results, and market notes from the previous sale.

Thanks as always for riding with us.