Alex Ovechkin has become one of the greatest players in NHL history and one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. The value of his memorabilia reflects that status, and his recent rise to the top of the NHL’s all-time goals list has only increased demand among collectors.
Monday, one of Ovechkin’s hockey cards sold for $256,000 in Sotheby’s Summer Sports Marquee auction. The 1-of-1 card, from Upper Deck’s 2024-25 The Cup set, features a game-used NHL shield patch from an Ovechkin jersey as well as Ovechkin’s autograph and a special inscription.
What makes the card extra special, aside from it being a 1-of-1, is that Ovechkin added an inscription to his autograph that reads, “895 #1 All-Time Goals.” The card has also been graded a 7/10, and Ovechkin’s autograph has been authenticated and graded a 10/10, both by PSA.
The card is now the second-highest publicly sold Ovechkin card to date after his 2005-06 The Cup Rookie Patch Autograph – Gold Rainbow, numbered eight out of eight copies sold for $381,000 in Sotheby’s Timeless Titans auction last year. That card set a new all-time high sale price record for any modern hockey card.
Before last year, the previous record for any Ovechkin card was $182,400, set by an Ovechkin 2005-06 The Cup Rookie Patch Autograph numbered to 99 copies and graded a 10 by PSA, which sold at Goldin in 2021. The more recent sales show exactly how Ovechkin’s market has only grown, especially after he topped Wayne Gretzky’s once-thought-unbreakable goals record.
The current record for any hockey card is the $3.75 million paid for a 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card graded a 10 by PSA, which was sold via private sale in 2021.
Sotheby’s, a company that dates back to 1744, is one of the world’s largest brokers of collectibles, holding auctions for sports memorabilia, fine art, jewelry, watches, and wine.
Ovechkin’s card sold with a group of 170 other incredible pieces of sports memorabilia, including Aaron Judge’s game-worn MLB debut New York Yankees jersey, Kobe Bryant’s game-worn 2009 NBA Finals jersey, a Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig dual-signed baseball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1995 Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ring, the bat Shohei Ohtani used to record his 1,000 career MLB hit, and Max Verstappen’s 2023 Canadian Grand Prix race-worn and signed suit.
