Barely a blip on the radar prior to 2023, women’s sports cards are now a force to be reckoned with.
The number of products has grown and NIL rights have given a pathway to players to appear on cards—and sign them—while still in college. The most famous name in today’s women’s game, Caitlin Clark, has her own set that coincided with a new marketing deal as the WNBA’s top rookie.
Collectors and dealers are grading cards of female athletes at a never- before-seen rate. Over 100,000 Clark cards have now passed through the four major grading companies—an impressive number considering she’s only been appearing on them since 2022. This year, Clark cracked PSA’s top ten list of basketball players whose cards were graded the most in 2024, a first for any woman. More Clark cards have been graded in 2024 than Steph Curry, Luka Doncic and Shaquille O’Neal.
In October, Panini released 2024 Select WNBA, the league’s first product in that long running and popular line. While some lamented the suddenly high cost of the product, it brought even more WNBA cards into grading rooms.
Paige Bueckers, who is still in college, ranks just behind Clark on the list of the most graded women athletes of 2024. A few hundred Bowman Bueckers cards are sold on eBay each day. The 1/1 Bueckers SuperFractor from 2023 Bowman U sold for nearly $5,000 in November. Like Clark and Angel Reese, Bueckers also has her own exclusive deal with Panini America.
Undoubtedly, the rise in demand for current and future WNBA players is part of what’s driven basketball cards to the biggest year-over-year growth of any sport at 77%.
In an Olympic year, female athletes appeared on Topps cards, too, and collectors weren’t shy about sending in cards of those featuring Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles. Demand for Alex Morgan increased as the soccer superstar played her final game.
Below is PSA’s top 10 list of female athletes whose cards have been sent in most often this year. Clicking the links of each will take you to what’s currently listed on eBay.
Female Athletes Whose Cards Topped PSA’s 2024 Most Graded List
- Caitlin Clark
- Paige Bueckers
- Angel Reese
- JuJu Watkins
- Cameron Brink
- Alex Morgan
- Hannah Hidalgo
- Katie Ledecky
- Sabrina Ionescu
- Serena Williams
