GameStop Offering $25K Bounty On Rare Lionel Messi Card: Video Game Retailer Deepens Trading Card Push

Meme stock and video game retailer GameStop Corporation GME is new to the trading card sector and could make a big splash with a bounty offered for one of the rarest soccer cards in 2024.

What Happened: Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi made a splash when he joined Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami, a move that helped sportsbooks, MLS ticket sales and Apple-owned streaming platform AppleTV+.

GameStop could soon be added to the list of companies helped by Messi’s popularity.

The global soccer superstar is currently taking part in the Copa America tournament with top international teams from North America and South America. Argentina is one of the remaining four teams in the tournament and the betting favorite.

Trading card company Panini launched 2024 Copa America sticker boxes featuring collectible stickers of hundreds of players competing in the tournament.

This year’s Copa America stickers include several color parallels including a one-of-one black sticker.

GameStop is offering a $25,000 bounty for the lucky fan or collector who pulls the Lionel Messi one-of-one black parallel, if they choose to sell it to the retailer.

The sticker has to be a PSA 6 or above when graded to meet the bounty requirement and the bounty concludes at the end of 2024.

One interesting point on the bounty is the potential valuation. According to a report from collectibles site cllct, a 2022 World Cup black border parallel one-of-one Messi sticker sold for $120,000 last year. This could suggest the $25,000 bounty offered by GameStop is below what the sticker could go for at auction.

Read Also: Napkin Sells For $1M, Here’s How Lionel Messi Was Involved

Why It’s Important: For GameStop, the bounty could be the perfect way to advertise that the retailer is offering graded sports cards for sale. The retailer also buys graded sports cards.

GameStop also buys and sells graded Pokemon trading cards as it looks to diversify from just offering physical video games and gaming accessories.

Bounties are growing in popularity in the trading card sector as top collectors and stores try to get their hands on the rarest new release cards.

Benzinga previously shared that there is a $500,000 bounty on a Tom Brady baseball card from the 2023 Bowman Draft set. The card is numbered 12/50 and features the caption “if baseball doesn’t work out, there’s always football” handwritten by Brady on the card.

The card pays tribute to the NFL great being drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 MLB Draft but choosing to pursue a professional football career instead.

A $200,000 bounty was offered for a one-of-one Babe Ruth card also. A rare Lord of the Rings Magic: The Gathering card generated bounties of $1 million to $2 million. The card was eventually pulled and was sold to musician Post Malone.

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Photo: Messi, GameStop, Shutterstock