Robbin Stowers waited outside a card shop in Mesa, Arizona, for one full hour before it opened. Her three grandsons wanted a box of 2025 Topps Chrome Football.
What her youngest grandson pulled from that box sent shockwaves through the world of sports collectibles. The redemption card was a 1/1 Josh Allen Gold Shield autograph.
That card sold for $1.35M on Fanatics Collect, shattering the previous Allen record of $288K set in 2022 for a Panini National Treasures rookie patch auto.
Stowers told The Athletic the proceeds will be divided among her three grandsons, 15-year-old Dylan, 12-year-old Harrison and 10-year-old Stephen.
The Gold Shield features a game-worn gold NFL shield patch from Allen’s MVP season jersey. The extreme rarity of the 1/1 card drove intense bidding throughout the auction.
The Allen sale was far from the only record-breaking transaction during the Fanatics Collect May 2026 Premier Auction. Two other legendary cards from different sports also made history.
LeBron James’ 2025 Topps Chrome Superfractor AUTO 1/1 closed at $1.26M after attracting 38 bids from collectors. It became the largest sale in the history of the Fanatics Collect platform.
The card features James’ new crown-style autograph, his first Superfractor on a Topps Chrome design. The listing described it as historically significant for modern basketball collectors.
A 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky autographed rookie card graded PSA 9 with a 10 auto grade fetched $540K. That price set a new record for any autographed hockey card.
Fanatics Collect called the Allen card “the greatest Josh Allen card of all time” on official social media before the auction closed.
The Gretzky card also ranks as the second most expensive Gretzky card ever sold, according to Fanatics Collect.
Three sports produced three record-breaking card sales on one truly unforgettable auction night.
