Carl Lewis should be a much bigger name in memorabilia than he is. Nine Olympic gold medals, Olympic dominance across sprint and long jump, one of the defining athletes of the 1980s and early 1990s, and still you can find signed items from him at prices that feel almost absurdly low for a figure of … Read more
Lothar Matthäus belongs in almost every serious discussion about the greatest midfielders football has ever produced. That sounds like a bold statement until you actually think about what he achieved. World Cup winner, Ballon d’Or winner, the driving force behind West Germany for more than a decade and one of the few players who could … Read more
One of my favourite stories in sports business has surprisingly little to do with the NFL itself. Years ago, Uli Hoeneß travelled to the United States because Bayern Munich was financially trying to reinvent itself. German soccer still thought primarily about football. The Americans were already thinking about entertainment, merchandising, stadiums and everything happening before … Read more
There are very few athletes who completely change the economics of their sport. Michael Jordan did it for basketball. Muhammad Ali did it for boxing. Tom Brady turned the NFL quarterback into a global commercial brand. In golf, that player is unquestionably Tiger Woods. Before Tiger, golf was already successful, particularly in the United States, … Read more
I was looking through Etsy again for sports memorabilia, and it is one of the stranger places to search for autographs. The selection is huge: Jordan, Brady, Ohtani, Kobe, Messi, framed jerseys, signed photos, balls, helmets, display pieces. A lot of it looks good at first glance because Etsy is built for presentation. Nice photos, … Read more
I saw someone walking through Berlin in a Lakers jacket, pulling a shopping trolley behind him. Nothing rare. Nothing game-used. Nothing signed. Just a Lakers jacket in a normal Berlin street. But that is exactly why I stopped thinking about it. You see this everywhere now. Yankees caps. Bulls hoodies. Raiders logos. Dodgers caps. Jordan … Read more
Max Schmeling memorabilia is a strange market. In Germany, Schmeling is still a known name. Heavyweight champion, Joe Louis rival, old boxing history, difficult German history, long life, International Boxing Hall of Fame. But when you actually look at the normal autograph market, the prices can feel surprisingly small. I found the same thing on … Read more
Max Verstappen felt like the serial champion of modern Formula 1 for a while. Red Bull dominance, aggressive driving, no interest in being polished for everyone, no soft PR version of himself. That is exactly why many fans like him. He is not the clean corporate hero type. He wins, he annoys people, he says … Read more
