The most expensive hockey card ever sold is a 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie graded PSA 10, which changed hands for a reported $3.75 million in a private sale brokered by Heritage Auctions in May 2021. As of November 2026, it is still the hockey record by a wide margin. This countdown ranks the ten priciest hockey cards by price actually paid, from #10 up to #1, using public auction results and disclosed sales.
Hockey has always been the quiet corner of the card market. Baseball and basketball get the headlines, and hockey gets the loyal collectors. That changed fast. Four of the ten sales below happened in 2025 and 2026, and a teenager’s rookie card now sits next to Gretzky at the top of the board.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1966-67 Topps Bobby Orr rookie, BVG 10 | $276,000 | February 2021 | Heritage Auctions |
| 9 | 2015-16 Ultimate Collection Connor McDavid Spectrum Teal 1/1 | $305,000 | May 2025 | Heritage Auctions |
| 8 | 2005-06 The Cup Alex Ovechkin Gold Rainbow 8/8 | $381,000 | April 2025 | Sotheby’s |
| 7 | 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky rookie, signed, PSA 9 | $540,000 | May 2026 | Fanatics Collect |
| 6 | 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10 | $720,000 | December 2020 | Heritage Auctions |
| 5 | 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10 | $1,050,000 | May 2021 | Private sale via PWCC |
| 4 | 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10 | $1.2 million | August 2022 | Heritage Auctions |
| 3 | 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Macklin Celebrini Outburst Gold 1/1 | $1,281,000 | August 2026 | Goldin |
| 2 | 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10 | $1,290,000 | December 2020 | Heritage Auctions |
| 1 | 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10 | $3.75 million (reported) | May 2021 | Private sale via Heritage Auctions |
10. 1966-67 Topps Bobby Orr rookie, BVG 10: $276,000
Bobby Orr rewrote what a defenseman could do, and his Topps rookie is the cornerstone of any vintage hockey collection. Cards from the 1960s were printed on rough stock, cut off-center and handled by kids, so finding one in pristine shape is close to impossible.
This copy carried a perfect BVG 10 Pristine grade, the kind of number almost no 60-year-old hockey card ever earns. Heritage Auctions sold it in February 2021, right at the peak of the pandemic card boom, and it remains the top public price for an Orr card that we could verify.
How we valued it: hammer plus premium, taken from the auction house’s results and collector sales records.
9. 2015-16 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Connor McDavid Spectrum Teal 1/1: $305,000
McDavid arrived in the NHL as the most hyped prospect since Sidney Crosby, and he lived up to it. This card is the only one of its kind: a one-of-one Spectrum Teal parallel with an on-card autograph and a game-worn NHL shield patch from his rookie season.
Heritage Auctions sold it in May 2025 for $305,000. At the time it was the most expensive McDavid card ever sold publicly, and it showed that modern one-of-ones had joined vintage Gretzky in the six-figure club.
How we valued it: auction price with premium, confirmed across two independent collector reports.
8. 2005-06 The Cup Alex Ovechkin Gold Rainbow 8/8: $381,000
The Cup rookie patch autograph is the modern hockey card most collectors chase, and the Gold Rainbow parallel is the rarest version. Upper Deck numbered each one to the player’s jersey number, so Ovechkin’s run stops at eight copies. This one is the 8/8, his own number.
Sotheby’s sold it on April 21, 2025, for $381,000. The card graded BGS 8 with a perfect 10 autograph. It more than doubled the previous Ovechkin record of about $182,000 and arrived during the season he chased and broke Gretzky’s career goals record, which gave the sale perfect timing.
How we valued it: the Sotheby’s result, confirmed by at least two independent reports.
7. 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie, signed, PSA 9: $540,000
Signed Gretzky rookies exist, but not many survive in high grade. Grading records show this copy as the only PSA 9 with an autograph, and its signature graded a perfect PSA/DNA 10. There are no signed PSA 10 copies known at all.
It sold through Fanatics Collect in May 2026 for $540,000 including buyer’s premium. Bidding sat near $264,000 a few days before the close, then doubled. It is now the most expensive autographed hockey card ever sold.
How we valued it: final price with premium, from collector sales records and two independent reports.
6. 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10: $720,000
Gretzky’s rookie came in two versions in 1979: the Canadian O-Pee-Chee and the American Topps. The Topps card is easier to find but no easier to grade well, because its dark blue borders show every chip and scratch.
In December 2020, a PSA 10 Topps copy sold at Heritage Auctions for $720,000. Only two copies have ever earned a PSA 10, so each time one surfaces it sets the price for the other.
How we valued it: the realized price with premium, as logged in collector sales records.
5. 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10, private sale: $1,050,000
Five months after the Heritage auction, one of the two PSA 10 Topps Gretzky rookies changed hands again, this time away from the auction floor. In May 2021, the PWCC marketplace announced it had brokered a private sale of the card for $1,050,000.
It was the first time a Topps Gretzky passed $1 million, and it came in the same month as the record private sale of the O-Pee-Chee version at #1. Neither the buyer nor the seller was named.
How we valued it: disclosed private sale price announced by the broker and repeated by two collector reports.
4. 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10: $1.2 million
In August 2022, a PSA 10 Topps Gretzky came up at Heritage again, and the price climbed to $1.2 million. That made it one of very few hockey cards to break the seven-figure line at public auction.
The climb from $720,000 to $1.05 million to $1.2 million in under two years tells the story of the Gretzky market: when collectors believe a card can never be replaced, they pay whatever it takes when a perfect copy appears.
How we valued it: realized auction price, as listed in a million-dollar sales roundup and a collector news report.
3. 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Macklin Celebrini Outburst Gold 1/1: $1,281,000
Macklin Celebrini was the first overall pick in 2024, and his rookie year in San Jose made him the face of the next generation. Upper Deck put a single Outburst Gold parallel of his Young Guns rookie into packs. Only one exists.
Goldin sold it on August 15, 2026, for $1,281,000, with the hammer at $1,050,000. The owner had reportedly turned down an offer of about $426,000 earlier. The sale set the record for any hockey card that does not show Wayne Gretzky, and it makes Celebrini the only active player in the top three.
How we valued it: price with premium, confirmed by the auction house’s announcement and several independent reports.
2. 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10: $1,290,000
The O-Pee-Chee Gretzky is the true king of hockey cards. It was printed in Canada on thin stock, with a blue border that chips if you look at it wrong. Grading records show only two PSA 10 copies.
One of them sold at Heritage Auctions on December 11, 2020, for $1,290,000 including the buyer’s premium. It was the first hockey card to pass $1 million, and it still holds the record for a hockey card sold at public auction.
How we valued it: the realized price including a 20% buyer’s premium, from the auction house’s results and two independent reports.
1. 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie, PSA 10: $3.75 million
The other PSA 10 O-Pee-Chee did not go to public auction at all. In May 2021, Heritage Auctions announced it had brokered a private sale of the card for $3.75 million. The buyer was not named.
The price nearly tripled the auction record set five months earlier. That gap is what scarcity looks like: with only two perfect copies, a buyer who wanted one could not wait for a third.
How we valued it: disclosed private sale announced by the auction house that brokered it and reported widely; one collector report gives a higher figure of $5.2 million, which we could not confirm, so we use $3.75 million.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- August 2026: Macklin Celebrini’s Outburst Gold 1/1 sold at Goldin for $1,281,000, a record for any hockey card without Gretzky.
- May 2026: A signed PSA 9 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky rookie sold through Fanatics Collect for $540,000, the top price for an autographed hockey card.
- May 2025: McDavid’s one-of-one Spectrum Teal Ultimate Collection card sold at Heritage for $305,000.
- April 2025: Ovechkin’s Gold Rainbow 8/8 sold at Sotheby’s for $381,000, more than double his previous record.
What drives these prices
- Population is everything. The top two cards come from a pool of exactly two PSA 10 copies. When supply is that fixed, prices move in leaps, not steps.
- Old cards win on condition, new cards win on serial numbers. Vintage records depend on perfect grades. Modern records depend on one-of-ones and jersey-number parallels, where the card is scarce on purpose.
- Timing with the player’s story. Ovechkin’s record came during his chase of the goals record, and Celebrini’s came after a breakout rookie year. Buyers pay for a card at the moment the story is loudest.
- Gretzky is the floor of the market. Six of the ten entries feature him. Every new hockey record is measured against his rookie, which gives the whole category a stable anchor.
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What is the most expensive hockey card ever sold?
A 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie graded PSA 10, which sold privately for a reported $3.75 million in May 2021. The sale was brokered by Heritage Auctions.
What is the auction record for a hockey card?
$1,290,000, paid at Heritage Auctions in December 2020 for the other PSA 10 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky rookie. It was the first hockey card to pass $1 million.
What is the most expensive hockey card of an active player?
Macklin Celebrini’s 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Outburst Gold 1/1, which sold at Goldin for $1,281,000 in August 2026.
Who bought the $3.75 million Gretzky card?
The buyer was not publicly named. Heritage Auctions announced the private sale without disclosing the buyer.
What is the cheapest card on this list?
The BVG 10 1966-67 Topps Bobby Orr rookie at #10, which sold for $276,000 in February 2021.
How much is a Gretzky rookie worth in lower grades?
Far less than the record copies. Recent sales of mid-grade O-Pee-Chee Gretzky rookies in PSA 6 to PSA 7 landed between about $5,500 and $7,800 in October 2026.
How we put this list together
We ranked these hockey cards by verified sale price, using public auction results and disclosed private sales compiled in our internal valuation model. Prices are approximate and change over time as cards resell.
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Last updated: November 2026.
