Mia Hamm Sets Record for Most Expensive Female Sports Card With Rookie Card Sale

Former United States women’s national team star Mia Hamm is back to breaking records after her rookie card sold for $34,440 this weekend.

The 1992 rookie card nearly doubled the previous record for the most expensive female sports card, per ESPN. Hamm’s rookie card is from a 1992 edition of SI For Kids, appearing in magazines across the country following her first FIFA Women's World Cup appearance in 1991. The previous record for a female sports card belonged to Alex Morgan, whose rookie card reportedly sold for $16,000.

Hamm is a worthy record holder of the most expensive card for a female athlete. She scored 158 goals in 276 caps for the USWNT from 1987-2004, winning two Olympic gold medals and two World Cups. Hamm held the record for most international goals scored until 2013, and she now sits third on the all-time list behind Abby Wambach and Canadian striker Christine Sinclair.

"It validates that there's a legitimate market for women's sports," Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin told ESPN. "Four years ago, soccer was not considered by most [trading card] people in the United States. "But two of the five highest-priced items in this auction were soccer-related [and] then you have Mia Hamm up there, too."

Sports card sales have seen a boom in recent years. Tom Brady's rookie card set a new record in June, with the card selling for $3.1 million. Brady broke his own record with the sale, topping a $2.25 million rookie card bid in April

More Soccer Coverage: 

• The Most Stunning Finish to the Most Stunning Day at Euro 2020
• Spain Puts Its Potential, Pitfalls on Display vs. Croatia
• Switzerland Stuns France on Penalty Kicks in Euro Thriller