Paul Skenes Reacts to Massive Bounty Pirates Offered for His Rookie Card

Skenes is all in on the hunt for his best rookie card.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes throws a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at PNC Park.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes throws a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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The Pittsburgh Pirates put out a huge offer for the lucky person who finds Paul Skenes's one-of-a-kind rookie debut patch autograph card hiding in Topps' Chrome Update product.

If the collector who pulls the card delivers it to the Pirates, they'll receive two season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years, a softball game for 30 people at PNC Park, a spring training experience including a meet-and-greet with Skenes complete with two of his autographed jerseys, amongst other unique experiences.

Skenes's girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, then upped the bounty by offering to host the person who finds the card in her suite for a game. Seth Meyers, a Pittsburgh fan, offered VIP tickets to Late Night With Seth Meyers if the finder just let him look at the card.

Skenes himself chimed in on the unique offers for the card.

The Pirates posted a video on social media Monday of Skenes opening a box of Chrome Update. He was confident he'd end the chase and pull the card himself.

Well, that didn't happen. The card is still out there and Skenes is excited to meet the person who brings it to Pittsburgh (if they choose to do so, of course).

"I was really upset I didn't find the card," Skenes joked in an appearance on SportsCenter. "It's a cool opportunity and hopefully it'll unite a lot of people around pulling cards. It's cool, I'm looking forward to meeting the person who actually pulls the card."

When asked if he wanted to throw anything into the deal himself to sweeten the pot even more, Skenes replied "I think it's pretty sweet already."

The chase continues. And the card became even more valuable when Skenes was officially announced as the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday night.


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a breaking/trending news writer at Sports Illustrated. Blake has covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball since 2021 for numerous sites including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's degree in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.