You may have seen this coming from a mile away. After the StartEngine platform for private funding got into Art (Masterworks.io) and Wine (Vinovest), Sports collectibles had to be the next stop on the list. It’s officially expanding into sports collectibles.

StartEngine, has sent an email out to its owners and investors that the platform is now allowing its clients and owners to buy shares via the StartEngine Crowdfunding platform in the Michael Jordan rookie card and in a LeBron James rookie card.

The 1986 Fleer #57 card of Michael Jordan is graded a PSA 10 gem mint. Their offering is for a market cap (valuation) of $432,000.00. At the time of this going out there were 243 investors and they had raised $214,320.00 so far. According to Start Engine:

There are only 319 cards known to be in this condition and as a result it is often used as a barometer for the entire sports card market.

Collectors Dashboard would point out that these are the latest PSA 10 Michael Jordan sales tracked in sales from Goldin Auctions, although other auctions may have been seen as well as privately negotiated transactions:

• 10/27/2021 for $369,000.00 (Goldin Auctions)
• 10/6/2021 for $336,000.00 (Goldin Auctions)
• 8/31/2021 for $295,200.00 (Goldin Auctions)
• 8/11/2021 for $319,800.00 (Goldin Auctions)

StartEngine Collectibles was also selling shares in a LeBron James Topps Chrome Refractor Rookie Card #111 from 2003 at a market cap of $147,000. At this time it had raised $49,670 from 66 investors. That is about $750 per investor on averaged. StartEngine’s pitch sheet noted that this LeBron James rookie card is one of the most widely sought after rookie cards now, and that there were only 38 of the cards known to be in existence.

While those offerings are open, StartEngine did note that both offerings are eligible for the StartEngine’s Owner 10% Bonus Program in the rewards. Just keep in mind that Start Engine has some serious fees here: a 16.7% Sourcing Fee (shipping, expertise, appraisal, and sourcing expenses); a 0.5% annual management fee; and a 20% split on the profits.

If you think this is the last collectible segment that StartEngine is entering, that is probably not the case. If others are into documents, rare books, NFTs, classic cars and other aspects of culture, Kevin O’Leary is sharky enough he probably isn’t going to allow any new popular segments to be passed by if they are deemed profitable.