Logan Paul Sells Pokémon Card for Over $16 Million

The current frenzy surrounding Pokémon cards kicked off with Logan Paul in 2020, and this weekend’s jaw-dropping sale of his Illustrator Pikachu card for an astonishing $16.49 million might just mark the peak of this madness. It’s fitting to close this chapter with the same controversial figure.

Logan Paul’s Illustrator Pikachu is undeniably one of the rarest Pokémon cards out there. Created in 1997 for an illustration contest in Japan, this card features a unique image of Pikachu wielding a paintbrush, with only 41 copies ever printed. Out of those, just one has been graded a perfect 10 by PSA, the leading grading service for collectibles, and that’s the very card Paul purchased as a publicity stunt in 2022 for a whopping $5.275 million—$4 million in cash and the rest in a PSA 9 version of the same card. He famously wore it around his neck during his WrestleMania appearance that year.

This wasn’t Paul’s first foray into the world of high-stakes Pokémon collecting. In 2020, during the pandemic, he began splurging millions on Pokémon packs for attention-grabbing streams. He once bought a Gem Mint 10 first edition holo Charizard for $150,000 and wore it to a staged boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, claiming it had skyrocketed in value to a million dollars. Thankfully, that was an exaggeration, and despite the overall price surge in the hobby, you can still find that card in similar condition for not much more than its original price.

Since 2022, the story of the Illustrator Pikachu has taken some wild turns. A linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders sold a CGC 9.5 version for $672,000 and celebrated by retiring from the NFL, likely regretting that decision when a PSA 7 version sold for $900,000 later that year, setting a record until Paul’s purchase. However, in 2023, a PSA 8 version went up for auction at $480,000 and didn’t attract a single bid. Then, in a bizarre twist, a PSA 9 Illustrator Pikachu sold for an outrageous $4 million, raising questions about how this card suddenly became worth nearly four times what Paul had sold his for just three years earlier. The truth is, the value of these cards is ultimately determined by what collectors are willing to pay.

Now, putting all that aside, it was reported this weekend that Logan Paul sold his one-of-a-kind PSA 10 Pikachu for an eye-popping $16,492,000.

Auctioned by Goldin alongside Paul’s PSA 10 1999 Charizard, a matching Blastoise, and a sealed box of Base Set 1st Edition cards, all items fetched absurd prices. While the Pikachu sale is the headline grabber, the rest of the auction was equally outrageous. The Charizard, typically valued at around $150,000, sold for $954,800; the Blastoise went for $138,880, despite identical cards selling for just $2,000 on eBay the day before; the Venusaur fetched $75,640; and the Base Set box went for nearly half a million at $496,000. The inflated prices can be attributed to PSA labeling these gradings with “1ST ED—LOGAN PAUL BREAK,” making them unique in the eyes of collectors. As for the Pikachu, there’s no logical explanation for its staggering price.

This $16.5 million sale obliterates all previous records and raises the question of whether such a figure can ever be surpassed. At around 1.85 grams, this card is valued at 55,370 times the price of gold, which is just absurd. It’s all incredibly absurd.