Welcome back to The Hobby Weekly.

September has been a pretty crazy month in the hobby. We've had some huge sales, Pokémon's 30th Celebration is here, and there's been a lot of new stuff hitting shelves.

Here's what happened this week.

Remember the Cooper Flagg 1-of-1 we talked about in the last couple of issues?

Well, now we know what someone was actually willing to pay for it.

The Cooper Flagg Rookie Debut Patch Autograph 1/1 sold for $8,040,000 through Fanatics Collect on September 25. There were 83 bids, and the card ended up going from $3.5 million to more than $8 million.

That makes it the highest price ever paid for a single-player basketball card and one of the biggest sports-card sales ever.

And the crazy part is still how this started.

Someone paid $515 for the Mavericks spot in the RhodyBreakers break where the card was pulled in August.

A $515 spot turned into an $8 million card.

That's about as crazy as the hobby gets.

2026 Bowman Football released September 30, giving football collectors a new product to rip.

The interesting part about this one is that Topps is putting NFL players and college prospects in the same product for the first time.

There's a 200-card base set with NFL rookies and veterans, plus a separate 200-card Bowman Prospect set featuring college players.

There are also autographs for prospects, rookies and veterans, along with inserts like Spotlights, Crystallized and Etched-In Glass.

So you get players who are already in the league alongside guys who could be there soon.

Upper Deck announced Upper Deck Moments on September 30.

The idea is pretty simple: instead of waiting months for a card to be made about a big moment, Upper Deck wants to get cards out soon after the moment actually happens.

The first release is connected to the start of the 2026–27 NHL season and features a card celebrating Evan Bouchard's season-opening performance.

Cards start at $6.99 on Upper Deck e-Pack, with numbered and autograph versions available for some moments.

It's a pretty interesting idea, especially if they keep up with big moments throughout the season.

The biggest Pokémon release of the month is officially out.

Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration released September 16, celebrating 30 years of the Pokémon TCG.

The set has more than 150 cards, including 30 different Pikachu illustrations and a Classic Collection featuring some of the most recognizable cards from Pokémon's history.

And yes, every card in the set is foil.

There are Elite Trainer Boxes, Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Boxes, Poster Collections, Knock Out Collections and several other products.

The Classic Collection is probably the biggest part for collectors. Instead of everything being completely new, it brings back familiar cards with a 30th-anniversary look.

And this is only part of the 30th anniversary year, so there should be plenty more coming.

Sale date: September 25, 2026

Sale price: $3,720,000

The card sold through Fanatics Premier and was part of a Pokémon Art Academy competition. The winning artwork was turned into a very limited promo card.

And this wasn't even the only huge Mudkip sale this week.

A 2004 EX Team Rocket Returns Mudkip Gold Star PSA 10 sold for about $1.02 million.

Two Mudkip cards over $1 million in the same week.

That's something you don't see every day.

Sale date: September 25, 2026

Sale price: $2,880,000

Cooper Flagg obviously stole the headlines, but Dylan Harper had a huge sale of his own.

His 1-of-1 NBA Debut Patch Autograph sold for $2.88 million through Fanatics Premier.

And Kon Knueppel had a huge sale too.

Sale date: September 25, 2026

Sale price: $2,340,000

Knueppel's 1-of-1 sold for $2.34 million through Fanatics Premier on the same day.

So on one night, three NBA Debut Patch 1-of-1s — Flagg, Harper and Knueppel — all brought in huge numbers.

The NBA Debut Patch cards definitely had a big week.

Let's be honest. When most people saw the headline, they probably thought:

"It's Mudkip. Seriously?"

But the character isn't really the point.

This is a 2015 Japanese Pokémon XY Promo from the Art Academy competition, featuring artwork by Daisuke Ochiai.

These weren't cards you could just pull from a normal Pokémon booster pack. They came from a competition, which made them much harder to get in the first place.

The card that sold this week was graded PSA 10, adding another level of rarity.

Then it went through the Fanatics Premier auction.

Final price: $3.72 million.

It's a good example of why the hobby can get so unpredictable. Sometimes the card nobody talks about ends up becoming one of the biggest sales of the year.

This one isn't going anywhere.

What did the Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip PSA 10 sell for?

A) $725,000
B) $1.02 million
C) $2.4 million
D) $3.72 million

D) $3.72 million

What do you think it sold for?

A) $425,000
B) $750,000
C) $1.098 million
D) $1.8 million

C) $1.098 million

That card sold through Goldin on September 30.

You've got $100 and you're picking one card.

What are you taking?

A) A rookie card of a current NBA star

B) A vintage Pokémon card

C) A numbered football rookie

D) A famous baseball card

No right answer here. Just pick the one you'd want in your collection.

September was busy, but October isn't slowing down.

Pokémon 30th Celebration Booster Bundle

The bundle is scheduled to include six 30th Celebration booster packs.

2026 Topps Mars Attacks Christmas

Yes, Christmas cards in October.

The set has a 50-card base set along with numbered parallels, relics, autographs and sketch cards.

2026 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball

The new Allen & Ginter has a 300-card base set and mixes baseball players with other subjects. Minis, Signature Minis, Rip Cards and one-of-one Cut Signatures are also back.

2026 Topps Museum Collection Baseball

Museum Collection is also scheduled for October 7, with premium cards, autographs and memorabilia.

That's it for this week.

An $8.04 million Cooper Flagg, a $3.72 million Mudkip, Dylan Harper and Kon Knueppel both selling for more than $2 million, and the release of 30th Celebration.

Pretty wild week.

Next week, we'll have new sales, new stories and two different games alongside Guess the Price.

Thanks for reading.

— The Hobby Weekly