At the third annual Fanatics Fest, ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi revealed to attendees that Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, had just completed a major piece of hobby history backstage: signing his one-of-one numbered Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card, known as an RDPA.
“It’s definitely the most important thing we’ve had signed at Fanatics Fest,” Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan told ESPN. “When someone signs their debut patch, it’s a big deal and Cooper Flagg — he’s into cards in a big way — appreciates what this means and how special the moment is.”
Mahan described the Flagg RDPA as the most eagerly awaited basketball card “in a long, long time.”
Fanatics took over the exclusive NBA trading card license in October, and Flagg now leads the debut class of basketball Rookie Debut Patch Autograph cards. The cards will arrive in one of the hobby’s most closely watched products in years, 2026 Topps Chrome Update Basketball, scheduled for release on Aug. 6. Flagg’s card, along with RDPA cards for fellow rookies Kon Knueppel, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey and Derik Queen, will be included as redemption cards.
“Special cards connect you to an athlete in their biggest moment — the first time they step on the court or field, the height of achievement, breaking records — and that depth of connection and richness of storytelling, that authenticity, we’re bringing to life through innovation and partnership with leagues, teams and athletes,” Mahan said.
The top public sale for a Flagg card currently stands at $366,000 from a March auction. But the jersey tied to this particular RDPA carries even more mystique: the patch was taken from the jersey Flagg wore during the first half of his NBA debut, a gamer that sold for $1 million in February, setting what was then a record price at NBA Auctions.
“When Paul Skenes’ sold for $1.11 million last year, that really opened collectors up to the potential of rookie debut patch autograph cards,” Geoff Wilson, founder of Sports Cards Investor, told ESPN. “I said, when Flagg has one and it sells, it’ll exceed that, maybe $1.5 million.
“Now? Five million. It’s definitively his best card.”
Mahan talks about what’s next for Fanatics: TCG — a category which includes Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon — “is gonna be an area” they explore; given their rights portfolio, multisport crossovers are on the table; and technology could be a more “meaningful part” of the collecting experience, so it’s a place Fanatics is investing heavily: “We want to improve the collector experience every day and we think the time has come to have an app that has everything you need as a collector.”
But Fanatics’ lodestar of “work with athletes and bring them into the fold” has yielded an interesting by-product: Athletes chasing their rookie debut patch autograph cards.
“They could be massive collectors, they could not collect at all: Athletes want them,” Mahan says. “It’s become this iconic symbol. For us, it’s gratifying — but it’s the beginning, not the end. We’re just getting started.”
Negandhi asked Flagg if he’d take a run at buying his once it’s pulled.
“Maybe eventually,” Flagg said. “I might have to wait until I get my second contract, but maybe eventually.”
