News
Aug 21, 2026
Every trading card tells a story—and writer Mike Metzler, who covers The Hobby for Mantel and Yahoo Sports Collectibles, has seen a lot of them.
The talented Houston-based collectibles enthusiast has a collection of Astros, Texans, and Rockets cards that are sure to make fellow fans jealous, and is an integral part of the local collecting community, showing up at card shops and card shows throughout the area. You’d think he’d have seen it all, right? Think again.
From Upper Deck to Panini, Topps to Fleer, the trading card industry is always changing. There are new licenses, new star rookies, and even new teams. And as collectibles branch out into other areas like sneakers, watches, coins, and comics, there are always new avenues to keep an eye on, too. That’s why we sat down with Metlzer to uncover what he collects, changes he’s seeing in the collectibles space, and the importance of collecting what you love.
Courtyard: How did you first get into card collecting?
Mike Metzler: Trolling the flea market with my grandpa as a kid. His last name was Heilmann, and he would always say we were related to MLB Hall of Famer Harry Heilmann. (I’ve come to realize that wasn’t true, but it made it very exciting as a kid.) We’d go to the flea market and ask around for any of his cards. Much later, when my grandpa passed, I inherited his collection and have kept it going.
Courtyard: When did you realize you wanted to turn this from a hobby into a career?
Mike Metzler: I just wanted to make a few extra bucks on eBay. The plan was always to sell what I didn’t like to fund the cards I really wanted to collect. But, as happens to so many of us, the more you do that, the more you realize how much you need to know to do it well. The skill evolved over the years, but getting paid for it as a job was never on the agenda. I wrote corporate blogs and analyst reports for two decades before I finally started writing about something I truly care about. The opportunity to write for Mantel and Yahoo Sports came after a short contract at Fanatics, and I’ve fully embraced it. I love hearing people’s hobby stories, discovering unique collections, and talking with the people who are moving the hobby forward. I love working with and making content for the Mantel community.
Courtyard: How has being in the world of trading cards professionally changed your outlook on the space?
Mike Metzler: It’s made me much more optimistic about the future of the hobby. When you talk to people working at the companies heavily investing in making this a real industry—the Fanatics, Topps, Upper Decks, and eBays of the world—you realize how much capital is being poured into the space right now. When you hear about the sheer amount of thought and resources that go into just designing Topps Flagship each year, you can’t help but get excited. It makes you feel good about investing your time into something that is growing and bound to be around for a long time.
Courtyard: What/who do you personally collect?
Mike Metzler: Harry Heilmann, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Jameis Winston. More broadly, I collect Houston teams: Astros, Texans, and Rockets. I also enjoy a good Rookie Prizm Silver PSA 10 of players I like watching. And I love a good Sports Illustrated for Kids rookie card.
Courtyard: What are three of your favorite cards from your collection?
Mike Metzler: My three favorite cards start with this Bobby Witt Jr. 2022 Cosmic Chrome Rookie PSA 10 that I pulled and graded myself.
Second, I got to spend an afternoon with Shaq back in 2016 and had him sign my favorite childhood card. The Rockets-Magic NBA Championship was highly formative for my love of sports. The card is beat to all hell, but it features Hakeem and Shaq.
Lastly, I've got to go with my favorite Harry Heilmann card in my collection.
Honorable mention: the Tiger Woods SI for Kids rookie that is still attached inside the magazine from when it was delivered to my house as a kid.
Courtyard: As a collector, what importance do you place on slabbed cards, and how has that impacted your collection?
Mike Metzler: The rise of fake cards has made slabbed cards increasingly important. However, with all the major grading companies dealing with months of delays and pausing their value tiers, it’s getting complicated. If the cheapest option to get a card graded at PSA is $65 and takes 100 days, that bottleneck is going to significantly increase the value of already-graded cards. Even more than we’ve already seen.
Courtyard: With the new NFL season underway, and the new NBA season not far behind, what are you collecting to prepare?
Mike Metzler: I’ve been waiting on a PSA sub since February that is chock-full of Cooper Flagg and VJ Edgecomb that I can’t wait to get back. I think VJ Edgecomb is possibly the best buy at the moment. The amount of eyes on the Sixers this season is going to be astronomical, and being in LeBron’s orbit does wonders for a young, talented player’s market. Take a look at where Austin Reaves' cards currently sit and tell me they wouldn’t be less than half that if he hadn’t had LeBron’s praise over the last two seasons.
Courtyard: I saw your piece about collecting through the lens of fantasy football. Take us through that.
Mike Metzler: It was an experiment I ran last year and continued this year, where I took the top 100 fantasy football players ranked ahead of the season and priced out their Rookie Silver Prizm PSA 10s. The idea was to uncover investment opportunities before kickoff. I picked up Omarion Hampton, Bucky Irving, and Jordan Addison, as they had relatively low pop counts and were very cheap compared to their competition. I’ll probably lose my butt on them, but it feels better to make a data-backed decision and lose than to just go with my gut—which is wrong a lot more than it's right. Last year, I picked up Bijan Robinson and Daniel Jones using the same method, and one of those worked out very well. Can you guess which? I’ll also be writing a weekly column on Yahoo Sports Collectibles called The Hobby Waiver Wire, where I identify the best buys based on fantasy football performance throughout the season. Be sure to tune into that.
Courtyard: As someone that covers The Hobby, what changes do you think collectors can anticipate over the next year?
Mike Metzler: The Pokémon 30th Anniversary collection is releasing this week. You’re about to see more Pokémon than you ever have in your life. More people talking about it, more people making content about it, and more record sales.
Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars cards are going to continue selling for insane prices that make absolutely no sense to anyone who hasn’t been watching that space for a long time.
Courtyard: Last year, Mantel ran The Hobby Awards. Any clues as to who this year’s nominations will be?
Mike Metzler: Lol, nice try Courtyard.
Courtyard: If you were going to buy one pack or card available on Courtyard right now, what would it be?
Mike Metzler: Right now, I’m going to go against everything in my brain and grab a C.J. Stroud Rookie PSA 10. He played well, and if he hadn’t fumbled... twice... we might be talking about the Texans as the team to beat this season. I’m not holding my breath, though. A boy can dream though.
Courtyard: Anything else to share?
Mike Metzler: Collect what you love! The story behind a card is always more important than the card itself.