Welcome to the first issue of The Hobby Weekly.

This is my first time putting the newsletter together, so I’m excited to finally get it out. Make sure to subscribe to get the lastest hobby news sent to your mail! Every week, I’ll be covering some of the biggest things happening across sports cards and Pokémon, along with releases, sales, card stories and a few games.

Let’s get into it.

It took less than a week.

The biggest chase card from 2025–26 Topps Chrome Updates Basketball, the Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph, was finally pulled on August 10 during a live RhodyBreakers break.

The card is a 1-of-1 and features Flagg’s autograph and a patch from his NBA debut. Topps introduced the Rookie Debut Patch Autograph concept to basketball with this release.

Before the card was found, the Dallas Mavericks put together an enormous bounty for whoever discovered it. The package included 32 years of premium season tickets, a trip to a Celtics game, a signed game-worn jersey, trophy photo opportunities, a VIP Mavericks facility tour and a private basketball experience.

The crazy part is how the card was pulled.

Someone bought the Mavericks spot in a $515 RhodyBreakers break. Then the card everyone had been looking for came out of that break.

Now the card has received multimillion-dollar offers, including a reported $3.1 million offer. There still hasn’t been a confirmed sale, so that isn't the card's sale price.

The Cooper Flagg card has dominated the conversation, but there is a lot more to 2025–26 Topps Chrome Updates Basketball.

The product released on August 6, 2026, and features a 200-card base set with updated photography from the season. The checklist includes players in City Edition, Statement Edition and Classic Edition uniforms.

There are also plenty of inserts and autograph sets, including Alter Egos, Minions NBA, Moment in Time, New Edition, Stratospheric Stars and No Limit.

The biggest difference from the original Chrome release is basically the reason Update exists in the first place. Topps gets another chance to show what happened later in the season, including newer photography, different uniforms and cards that weren't part of the original release.

And judging by the Flagg chase, collectors have definitely noticed.

Football collectors have a big release coming up on August 21.

2026 Topps Flagship Football marks Topps' return to a fully licensed flagship NFL release after more than a decade. The checklist includes rookies such as Fernando Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love and Carnell Tate, along with players including Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.

That should be one of the bigger football releases of the month.

There is a new number that is almost hard to believe.

On February 16, 2026, Logan Paul’s PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator sold through Goldin for $16,492,000, including the buyer’s premium. Guinness World Records recognizes it as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.

The card is one of the most famous Pokémon cards ever made. It was given out as a prize in a Japanese illustration contest in 1998 rather than being sold in normal packs. Only 39 copies were originally distributed through the contests.

Paul's copy is the only known Pikachu Illustrator graded PSA 10.

That combination of rarity, condition and the card's history is a big reason the price went so high.

It's also a pretty good example of how far the Pokémon hobby has come. We're talking about a single trading card selling for more than $16 million.

For this first issue, we're looking at the biggest Pokémon and sports-card sales of the year so far.

Starting with Pokémon:

1998 Pikachu Illustrator — PSA 10

Sale date: February 16, 2026
Sale price: $16,492,000

That is currently the biggest Pokémon card sale of 2026 and also the biggest trading-card auction result ever recorded.

2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor Autograph 1/1 — Aaron Judge

Sale date: March 12, 2026
Sale price: $5,200,000

The card was sold through a private sale brokered by Fanatics Collect. It's a 1-of-1 Superfractor autograph from before Judge's official rookie-card releases and set a modern-era baseball-card record.

For future issues, this section is changing.

Instead of looking at the biggest sales of the entire year, we'll track the highest-selling Pokémon card and sports card from that week.

So the next issue will have a completely new pair of cards.

The idea behind an Update release is pretty cool.

A normal card release has to be planned before the entire season has happened. By the time the cards are printed, a lot can change.

Players can switch teams. Rookies can make their debuts. New uniforms can be introduced. Big moments can happen.

That gives Topps a chance to come back later and make cards that reflect what happened during the season.

That's exactly what we're seeing with Chrome Update.

The base set has updated photography, and the release also has cards built around rookies, moments and new designs.

So it isn't just another version of Chrome.

It's more like a second look at the season.

This one is staying every week.

The PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator sold for:

A) $5.2 million
B) $8.5 million
C) $12.9 million
D) $16.49 million

D) $16.49 million

That is the actual final price, including the buyer's premium.

Three clues:

Clue 1: It was released in 2026.
Clue 2: It is a 1-of-1.
Clue 3: It was one of the biggest rookie chases in Topps Chrome Updates Basketball.

Answer: Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph.

You just bought a brand-new box of basketball cards.

Are you opening it immediately, or keeping it sealed?

There isn't really a right answer. That's what makes it fun.

Next week, the two games besides Guess the Price will change.

Here are some of the releases worth having on your radar for the rest of the month. Release dates can change, so these are the current listed dates as of this issue.

2025–26 Panini Origins Basketball

2026 Panini Donruss WNBA Basketball

2026 Topps Mint Marvel

2025–26 Topps Motif Basketball

2026 Topps Flagship Football

2026 Panini Donruss Optic NWSL Soccer

2026 Panini Contenders LIV Golf

2025–26 Topps Chrome Black Basketball

2025–26 Panini Noir Basketball

2026 Panini Donruss Football

There are a lot of releases packed into the second half of August, especially for basketball and football collectors.

And that's the first issue of The Hobby Weekly.

There was a lot to talk about this week, from the Cooper Flagg 1-of-1 finally being found to a $16.49 million Pikachu Illustrator and a new wave of sports-card releases coming later this month.

Thanks for reading the first issue.

Next week, we'll have more hobby news, new sales, more cards to watch and two completely different games alongside Guess the Price.

See you next week.

— The Hobby Weekly

Anaik Sachdev