Coveted Cooper Flagg card that could fetch millions found in Rhode Island
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg of Newport works out at TD Garden on March 6 in preparation for playing a game in Boston for the first time in his NBA career. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
Members of a Rhode Island retail shop that rips open boxes of trading cards on livestreams pulled the one-of-one numbered rookie debut patch Cooper Flagg card Monday.
The highly sought-after Topps Chrome card — the only one in existence — could fetch upward of $5 million should the RhodyBreakers decide to sell.
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The card features a patch from the jersey Flagg wore in his NBA debut on Oct. 22, 2025. Flagg, a Newport, Maine native, also signed the card at Fanatics Fest last month.
At Don’s Sports Card Center on Brighton Avenue in Portland, 22-year-old Michael Thiffault, of Biddeford, cracked a smile Tuesday when told of the potential value of the unique card.
“That’s life-changing,” he said. “It’s crazy what cardboard can do.”
Thiffault said he’s only been into collecting cards for “a couple of months,” but said that the card generated a lot of immediate interest in the collecting world.
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“I’ve seen a lot of people go crazy about it,” he said. “A lot of people I know spent a lot of money to try to go for it.”
The rookie patch cards are sold in boxes with multiple other cards, but it’s unknown which boxes will contain them. Card buyers can purchase entry-level boxes (cheaper, but fewer cards and no autograph guarantees) or hobby and premium boxes (more expensive, but more cards and guarantees of one to three autographs). The Flagg card could have been in a $40 entry-level box, or a premium box costing close to $1,000.
Ron Farr, who owns Don’s Sports Card Center, said all of the boxes that he had in which the Flagg card could have been included sold out in a day and a half. He said that inventory included 40 entry-level boxes and 24 premium-level boxes.
“People were calling before the release day asking for it, and the day of release asking for it, and they’ve been asking for it every day since,” Farr said.
Farr said the estimate of the card being worth millions isn’t a stretch, given that a rookie patch card of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was sold for $1.11 million.
“The hype for that type of card is even bigger now,” he said. “And Cooper is a huge name, perhaps even bigger than Paul Skenes. That $1.1 (million) record for sure will be broken, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s in that $3 (million) to $5 million range.”
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With each day that went by without the card being pulled, the chance for a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” scenario playing out stayed alive.
“‘There’s still a chance,’ I definitely did think that. … But it’s so hard,” Thiffault said. “I’ve been collecting all the Coopers, I’m pretty jealous that it got pulled. But it’s amazing to see how it’s growing.”
The Dallas Mavericks on Aug. 6 offered a bounty for the card, including season tickets and autographed Flagg memorabilia.
The highest amount paid for any Flagg card so far is $366,000, which came in a March auction, according to ESPN.
Thiffault said he was glad the card got pulled in Flagg’s home region.
“I’m glad it made its way up here,” he said. “I was hoping it would be in Maine. … But in this area, it’s a little bit harder. Not many people in the area have the (packs) that you’re looking for.”
Maine fans will have a chance to get their hands on another piece of Cooper Flagg memorabilia at Wednesday’s Portland Sea Dogs game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. The first 1,000 fans into Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field will receive a Cooper Flagg bobblehead. The gates open at 4:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. contest.
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Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire. More by Drew Bonifant
