Pope Leo XIV has achieved an unlikely milestone: his trading card set has outsold those of sports superstars LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama.
Topps confirmed that 133,535 cards were sold during a four-day limited release, making it the highest-selling non-sports card set in the brand’s history. Each card, marking the historic election of the first US-born pope, was listed at $8.99 (£7).
In terms of sales, the Pope’s card surpassed other high-profile Topps Now releases, including LeBron James’ milestone of reaching 40,000 career points (86,072 cards sold) and Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Rookie of the Year card (113,777 sold).
The all-time Topps Now record, across sports and non-sports, still belongs to baseball star Shohei Ohtani, whose 2023 card marking a historic 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases sold over 650,000 copies.
Pope-themed trading cards date back over a century. A Pope Leo XIII card was produced in 1909, and in 2015, the Philadelphia Phillies released a Pope Francis “rookie” card during his US visit. The most valuable pope card to date - a signed Pope John Paul II card - sold for £1,400 on eBay.