Pop Report: PSA Hits Lowest Grading Volume Since August

Despite dropping 18% in volume, TCG was the most-graded category by PSA last week for the third straight week.

PSA grading volume also declined by 11% overall and was the lowest it has been since the first week of August.

Read this week’s Pop Report with GemRate for the latest news and notes on PSA’s graded population.

From a category perspective:

• All the main sports declined with the exception of soccer.

The mix of the top 50 players (and characters) graded during the period were as follows:

22 – Basketball

13 – Baseball

7 – TCG

6 – Football

1 – Hockey

1 – Golf

Below you’ll find a list of the top players graded for each category. 

An important consideration is what to make of this list. In the current situation where fears of junk slabs dominate the hobby, ranking high on this list likely is negatively correlated with price as that signals a meaningful number of slabs could move into the market in the near future. However, under normal circumstances, it could potentially be a leading indicator of positive price correlation as the list more accurately represents forward looking activity (i.e. bets being placed on players) and price potential.

BASKETBALL

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
• OUT OF TOP 10: RJ Barrett

BASEBALL

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Luis Robert, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Gavin Lux, Yordan Alvarez 
• DOWN: Ken Griffey Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. 
• OUT: Bo Jackson, Barry Bonds

FOOTBALL

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP:  Barry Sanders, Kyler Murray, Bill Belichick, Walter Payton
• OUT OF TOP 10:  Deion Sanders, Josh Allen, Peyton Manning

SOCCER

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP: Lionel Messi, Pele, Paul Pogba, Vinicius Junior, Christian Pulisic, Pedri
• DOWN: Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, 
• OUT OF TOP 10: Robert Lewandowski, Jude Bellingham, Jadon Sancho, Kai Havert, Ansu Fati

Note: Hockey and soccer lists are more volatile because grading activity is lower. Much smaller moves in grading activity can have a big impact on these lists.

HOCKEY

Top 10 Most Graded Players & Top Graded Card (during the 1-week period)

Noteworthy moves:

• UP:  Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Mats Sundin, Connor McDavid DOWN: Joe Sakic, Pavel Bure 
• OUT: Steve Yzerman, Eric Lindros, Ed Belfour, Bobby Orr

Note: Hockey and soccer lists are more volatile because grading activity is lower. Much smaller moves in grading activity can have a big impact on these lists.

Data in the Sports Card Investor Pop Report series is provided by GemRate. Follow GemRate on Instagram and Twitter for more on the latest cards graded by PSA.

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