When Caitlin Clark first graced the cover of SLAM in her Iowa Hawkeyes jersey in April 2024, the headline read, “The Legend of Caitlin Clark Is Just Beginning.”
More than a year later, that proclamation could not be more true, both on the hardwood and in the collectible world.
The single-highest graded copy of that magazine (CGC 9.9) sold Saturday at Goldin Auctions for a record $4,819, the most ever paid for a copy of SLAM.
It’s one of around 10 SLAM magazines ever given a CGC 9.9. CGC has graded more than 250 copies of the Clark debut magazine total, including more than 150 at CGC 9.8.
Debut magazines are highly coveted among collectors, with athletes’ first Sports Illustrated covers often acting as an approximate for a sort of magazine rookie card. Michael Jordan’s first Sports Illustrated sold for a record $126,000.
SLAM is generally far less valuable, though as the brand has sought to become more collectible in recent years, even issuing numbered variants for some releases, prices on the secondary market have been rising.
Last month, Clark was once again placed on the cover of SLAM for the magazine’s WNBA season preview, selling out of the “gold metal” variant (numbered to 94 copies and priced at $94) nearly instantly.
Clark was also recently featured on the June cover of Sports Illustrated along with Indiana Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and DeWanna Bonner.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.