How Pokémon cards overtook sports cards in PSA’s grading boom

Michael Jordan and Pikachu now compete on a very different court. Since its founding in July 1991, PSA has graded more than 1.6 million Michael Jordan cards, the most of any human athlete, and a signed Jordan–Kobe card sold for $12.93 million in 2025. Elizabeth Gruene, PSA’s head of pop culture, noted that the company “graded 1.5 million Pikachu cards just last year,” and Logan Paul’s sale of a Pikachu Illustrator for $16.49 million in February this year helped push Pokémon to the forefront.

In 2025, trading card games outpaced sports cards in total PSA gradings for the first time, with Pokémon making up roughly 90% of all TCG cards graded. The trading card game’s rise began with a chaotic burst. Wizards of the Coast launched the Pokémon TCG in North America in January 1999, and the cards spread through schools and playgrounds so quickly that some campuses banned trades after disputes and thefts.

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