Report: Ex-NFL offensive lineman Evan Mathis sells 1952 Mickey Mantle card for $2.88 Million

[FONT=&quot]A [/FONT]1952 Mickey Mantle Topps rookie card[FONT=&quot] in mint condition sold for $2.88 million Thursday night, [/FONT]reports[FONT=&quot] ESPN's Darren Rovell.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]According to Rovell, it's the second-highest price ever paid for a baseball card. The highest price ever paid was when a collector paid $3.12 million for a 1909 T206 Honus Wagner card in 2016.

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[FONT=&quot]The Mantle card was being sold by former NFL offensive lineman Evan Mathis. It was auctioned by Heritage Auctions.

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[FONT=&quot]“Just that image of the young Mickey Mantle, over the years it’s been a centerpiece of the hobby,” Mathis told The Associated Press when he decided to sell the card in March. “I guess it’s kind of like the Mona Lisa of the sports card world.”

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[FONT=&quot]According to The Associated Press, it is one of six versions of the card to have been rated a Mint 9 by Professional Sports Authenticator, while three others have earned a Mint 10 rating.

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[FONT=&quot]The Mantle card has become rarer as time has passed. Rovell reported the card could be had for $3,330 in 1988.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mathis told The Associated Press he sold the card to free up funds for a new house.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He played 12 seasons in the NFL, earning two Pro Bowl nods and a Super Bowl win.[/FONT]

I had a '62 Mantle, sold it for like $100-150ish

Guess I was off by 10 years

edit: https://www.google.com/search?q=mic...sAQIKw&biw=1615&bih=771#imgrc=t4EX5x8hpAYaQM:

That's it. It says '56-57 MVP on it but it's from '61. Weird.

PatsFan1283 said:

I had a '62 Mantle, sold it for like $100-150ish

Guess I was off by 10 years

edit: https://www.google.com/search?q=mic...sAQIKw&biw=1615&bih=771#imgrc=t4EX5x8hpAYaQM:

That's it. It says '56-57 MVP on it but it's from '61. Weird.

Click to expand...

They made a subset of the mvp’s from 1951-1960 in the 1961 set. That is where your mantle is from. The regular Mantle card from 1961(#300) is worth more.

I would love to know what Evan profited from sale but it's hard to determine. He traded most of his collection and agreed to make payments for the rest of the money to buy the card. Mathis lifetime earnings were around $21 million after agent fees and taxes you would have to figure his net around $13 million. Have no idea how much money he spent over his career but he seems like a pretty shrewd guy. He was a card collector for a long time. He's using the money to buy a dream house for his family. So many NFL players who earned what he has piss that money away and are broke a few years after they retire. NBA players are even worse. They sail through $21 million. He made a decent score on that Mantle card because it has soared in value. Mathis said he would like obtain one of the three Mint 10 rated cards. You can never go wrong investing in the rarest item of what collectors want. It works in coins too. A good number of fools in pro sports use their money to start or buy a restaurant. One of the toughest businesses in world. They sink a huge amount of money in it and most of them fail. It's all about ego. Mathis doesn't have one. He never even publicized that he bought that card.