Collectibles On SI

Pittsburgh Pirates Offer 30 Years Of Season Tickets For Topps Paul Skenes Card

Would you rather have a sports card of 30 years worth of season tickets?

Adam Palmer

Sep 28, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It’s Topps Chrome Update release week, and the card everyone is chasing is the MLB Debut Patch 1/1. Even the Pittsburgh Pirates are trying to get their hands on one of these cards.

In response to Topps posting an image of the Paul Skenes 1/1, the Pirates have put out a massive bounty for the card. They want to display the card at the stadium it seems, which would be a great exbit for fans to actually see the card and would maybe help new fans get into sports cards which would also be a plus.

Bounties for high-profile cards like this are not uncommon. Last year, Dave & Adam’s Card World offered a $150,000 bounty for the Anthony Volpe 1/1 Debut Patch.

The Pirates' offer includes several big-ticket items: 30 years of season tickets behind home plate, a meet-and-greet with Skenes, Skenes-autographed merchandise, a private tour of PNC Park, and even a full softball game at the stadium.

Sports teams’ involvement in sports cards has grown significantly over the past few years. Players have been spotted buying their own cards on eBay, and teams have hosted sports card-related promotions at their stadiums.

There’s a possibility that Topps and Fanatics are working with the Pirates to promote Topps Chrome, as Fanatics owner Michael Rubin appears in the comments of the Pirates’ tweet.

The Skenes 1/1 card will likely become one of the most expensive cards on the secondary market, thanks to his outstanding rookie season. The sports card market tends to favor players who perform exceptionally well, and Skenes' rookie-year dominance has collectors eager to buy his cards.

When historic home runs are hit, fans often receive offers from teams to trade the ball for a package. However, these offers are usually much lower than what they could earn by selling the ball on the open market. In this case, the Pirates' offer—30 years’ worth of season tickets alone—might match or even exceed the value of selling the card outright. Rubin’s tweet suggests he might be willing to sweeten the deal further, but it’s unclear what that offer might entail.

Update: It appears the Paul Skenes girlfriend, social media influencer Livvy Dunne has also thrown her hat in the ring here to add to the Pirates offer.

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Adam Palmer
ADAM PALMER

Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.

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