Fanatics Collect Auction #245 Results — Justin Gaethje, Tyler Shough, Patrick Mahomes & More

Collector-Friendly Results

Auction #245 again covered a wide range of cards and price points. Of the 166 sold listings, 154 finished at $30 or less, including 99 at $18 or less. That was expected in an auction with a significant share of newer base and insert cards. There was still room for collectors chasing inexpensive rookies and inserts as well as Pristine grades, autographs, parallels, soccer, UFC, memorabilia, and older premium issues.

Arthur’s Market Notes & Insights

Tyler Shough gave us one of the cleanest cross-product comparisons of the week.

Three CGC 10 Gem Mint cards across three different products:

• 2025 Donruss Optic Rookie — $49.20
• 2025 Topps Resurgence Sky Blue & Pink Shock Rookie — $26.40
• 2026 Topps Flagship — $19.20

Same player. Same grade. Very different results. The Optic rookie held its ground as the strongest of the three even as Topps returns to licensed football products—an ongoing question for collectors as the football card landscape shifts. Shough’s strong start to 2026 (including that four-touchdown game on September 27) also gave buyers a timely reason to pay attention.

Football supplied the volume. Baseball punched above its weight.

Football accounted for most of the auction, which is why so many of the comparisons below come from 2026 Topps Flagship. Baseball was a much smaller group, but it produced a higher average and median buyer price than football. That mix included McGonigle’s Chrome Pristine, Helton’s Exquisite auto, Bo Davidson’s /150 Bowman Chrome, Lawlar’s prospect auto, and Torkelson’s signed baseball. In other words, fewer lots, but more of the cards collectors already know how to value.

Soccer told a different story. It did not lead the dollar board, but it produced the most-bid card of the week: Armando Gonzalez’s Prizm World Cup Lazer rookie at 15 bids and $28.80. That is a useful distinction. Gonzalez was a “lots of collectors in range” result. Gaethje and Shough were closer to “buyers willing to pay up.” Messi and Ronaldo also cleared a respectable floor, with two Messi CGC 9s at $26.40 and $25.20 and a Ronaldo CGC 10 at $30.

Same-card grade comparisons were plentiful.

Patrick Mahomes II 2026 Topps Flagship base:

• CGC 10 Pristine — $31.20
• CGC 9 Mint — $18

Carson Beck 2026 Topps Flagship Rookie:

• CGC 10 Pristine — $21.60
• CGC 10 Gem Mint — $15.60

Jordyn Tyson produced the widest gap:

• CGC 10 Pristine — $24
• CGC 10 Gem Mint — $8.40
• CGC 9 Mint — $8.40

KC Concepcion showed an even sharper condition cliff:

• CGC 10 Pristine — $26.40
• CGC 8.5 — $7.20

These results, at least for now, line up with a few consistent football-card patterns:

1. Established elites tend to hold value best, even when the grade is not perfect.
2. Quarterbacks often command more attention because of their “impact player” status.
3. Outside the quarterback position, buyers can be more skeptical until performance is proven.

Tyson is a good example of that third point. Buyers paid a premium only for the Pristine 10. The Gem Mint 10 and Mint 9 both sold at a discount to grading cost, which suggests limited appetite so far for taking on risk in that name.

Across the full auction, the grade ladder generally held: Pristine copies averaged more than Gem Mint 10s, which averaged more than 9.5s and 9s. Inside Flagship specifically, Pristine copies averaged about $24, Gem Mint 10s about $18, and CGC 9s about $14. The premium for perfection was real. It just was not automatic on every name.

Treatment still mattered as much as the player name.

Flagship inserts and parallels — Profiles, Future Stars, Crackle Foil, Rainbow Foil, NFL Stars, and similar treatments — averaged more than the more base-looking Flagship cards. A few clean examples:

• Mahomes ’91 Crackle Foil CGC 10 — $38.40 vs Pristine base — $31.20 vs CGC 9 base — $18
• Caleb Downs ’91 Crackle Foil CGC 10 — $30 vs base CGC 9 — $15.60
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba NFL Stars Pink Crackle CGC 10 — $28.80 vs Profiles CGC 10 — $21.60 vs Profiles CGC 9 — $13.20

Cam Ward was the opposite kind of cluster: Future Stars CGC 10 at $22.80, base CGC 10s at $19.20 and $18, and a Profiles CGC 10 at $18. Tight range. Buyers were paying for the name more than the specific card. Garrett Nussmeier went the other way. Five copies mostly landed between $6 and $9.60, with the Crackle Foil 10 at $16.80 as the only real lift. That is a market still waiting on proof.

Fernando Mendoza sat in between. A CGC 9.5 at $27.60 and a CGC 9 at $24 told us collectors wanted the player enough that a half-grade did not change the result much.

But grade doesn’t tell the whole story.

Derrick Henry offered the counter-example. Two copies of the same 2026 Topps Flagship Profiles #TP-14 sold:

• CGC 9 Mint — $21.60
• CGC 10 Gem Mint — $14.40

The lower-graded card sold for 50% more. That is a useful reminder that auction outcomes are created by individual bidders in specific moments — who is watching, when a card closes, how many people are competing, and what else is ending around it can all matter. Unusual results are also more common when a product is still new to the market and early sales are part of the price-discovery process. That is another reason we emphasize that auction results should never be treated as exact price tags.

2026 Topps Flagship Football offered an early look at the rookie board.

Notable finishes included:

• Makai Lemon CGC 10 — $34.80
• Jeremiyah Love CGC 10 — $34.80
• Caleb Downs ’91 Crackle Foil CGC 10 — $30
• Fernando Mendoza CGC 9.5 — $27.60
• Ty Simpson Rainbow Foil CGC 9 — $27.60
• Denzel Boston Rainbow Foil CGC 10 — $26.40
• KC Concepcion CGC 10 Pristine — $26.40

These numbers aren’t enough to declare a hierarchy for the entire product, but they give collectors an early snapshot of which names and treatments drew attention in this auction. They also reinforce why looking beyond just the player name matters—a parallel, insert, Pristine designation, or different rookie issue can materially change where two cards of the same general tier finish.

One more volume note: 130 of the 166 sold lots were 2026 cards. This auction was still very much in the price-discovery phase for Flagship and the other new releases. Older cards were scarce, but when they were clean and easy to understand — Helton, Brunson, Lawlar, Chipper Jones — they competed just fine.

Final Takeaways

Weekly Auction #245 delivered a little bit of everything. Justin Gaethje led the week with a card tied directly to his Freedom 250 championship victory. Tyler Shough provided one of the strongest same-player product comparisons we’ve seen recently. Kevin McGonigle brought current on-field momentum to the baseball side, and Patrick Mahomes II gave us both grade and insert comparisons within the same release.

The broader results added a few more themes: baseball’s smaller group still carried strong averages, soccer produced the most active bidding without topping the price board, Flagship inserts generally beat base, and Pristine copies usually earned a premium — except when a single auction moment, like Derrick Henry, reminded us not to treat any one result as a price guide.

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you for tuning in.

Next up: Weekly Auction #246 is loading now — follow along in the Arthur’s Auction Hub and come ride with us.