Mavericks Offer Bounty After RhodyBreakers Find Rare Cooper Flagg Card

Trading cards have found their stride since the pandemic, offering something better than staring at walls when stuck indoors for months. Now one specific item has emerged as the hottest thing in sports collecting: a unique 1-of-1 Cooper Flagg rookie card from Topps. This particular piece features an NBA Debut patch ripped from his jersey during his first game. It is currently the holy grail of the hobby, so valuable that the Dallas Mavericks issued an official "bounty" to locate it.

According to ESPN reports, RhodyBreakers have already found this exact card. If you are confused by that name, these people rip open packs of cards on live streams for fun. That concept might seem strange unless you spend your days hunting a colonoscopy appointment instead. Just ignore the joke about sticking something in your Huffy bike spokes so it sounds like a motorcycle.

A similar situation created huge excitement when someone found a Paul Skenes card for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Whoever holds that Flagg specimen now faces a stark choice. Most collectors would put the item up for auction immediately. The current record for any Cooper Flagg card sits at $366,000, but this specific patch edition is expected to clear significantly higher figures. A jersey Flagg wore in his debut sold for a million dollars at auction, and that price tag suggests what this card could command.

Alternatively, the owner can accept the Mavericks bounty. This package includes two premium season tickets valid for 32 years, a signed game-worn jersey, photos with Flagg himself, the Rookie of the Year trophy, and an all-expenses-paid trip to play with the team. It sounds tempting enough to make your eyes water.

But let us be honest about what a million dollars buys you versus free tickets and a jersey. Even if this card is officially found, it makes anyone want to rush to the store to buy a pack just for that hit of pure unleaded dopamine. Sometimes I walk through Target looking for nothing specific, only to grab a box of IndyCar cards because they exist and feel awesome in my hand. You have not lived until you pull an autographed Will Power card out of a $10 box. That feeling is worth the risk.