According to eBay, 1.13 billion sports cards have already been sold this year. Their figures also state that 139 cards trade hands every minute, amounting to about 8,000 per hour, and an estimated 200,000 every single day. In other words, the trading card business is booming, and this week brings the industry’s crown jewel event.
The 41st Annual National Sports Collectors Convention comes to Rosemont, IL Wed-Sun this week, and it will see Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler make history.
The signal caller for the soon to be SEC program will be signing on Saturday, July 31, and it is believed that no college athlete has ever participated in an event this size, AND GET PAID, before.
Thank you NIL (Name, Image and Likeness ruling) that went into effect July 1! The Heisman trophy front-runner is a likely first round NFL Draft pick who will almost certainly be among the most electric players in college football this season.
The National is the event famous for having an elite tradition of top tier autograph guests, the biggest roster of dealers of collectibles, cards and memorabilia all in one setting. It’s been said: “If you can’t find what you’re looking for at the National, it probably doesn’t exist!”
Spencer Rattler will certainly draw a massive crowd, and the cost will be $150 for autographs, $60 per inscription and $150 to have your photo taken with him.
According to The Action Network, Rattler “has his own logo, his own merchandise and signed a deal with Raising Canes. He is represented by Steinberg Sports and Chris Cabott for marketing, the group that represents Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa.”
The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont will host the event, where Rattler will appear at a table in the autograph pavilion run by sports memorabilia company highlandmint. See you there! Be there, and be square! See you there! Be there, and be square!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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