Terence Atmane Calls Out Logan Paul’s $16.5 Million Pokémon Card Deal

Logan Paul's ultra-rare Pokemon trading card was sold for a staggering for $16.5 million.

Terence Atmane Calls Out Logan Paul’s $16.5 Million Pokémon Card Deal

Terence Atmane (via Tennis Temple)

In Short
  • Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card for $16.5 million, setting a record for trading card sales.
  • Tennis player Terence Atmane criticized the sale, claiming the buyer overpaid significantly compared to the card's actual value.
  • Atmane noted that the sale has increased hype in the Pokémon market, benefiting other collectors despite his valuation concerns.

If someone had told a decade ago that a YouTuber-turned-boxer would sell a piece of cardboard with a drawing of an electric mouse on it for a cool $16.5 million, the fans probably would have laughed them out of the room.

Yet in 2026, Logan Paul just broke the internet by selling his hyper-rare Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card to a buyer named Peter Petipas for a sum that rivals the career earnings of many professional athletes.

But while the internet was busy dropping its jaws to the floor, French tennis rising star Terence Atmane was casually lacing up his shoes for the Miami Open and shaking his head.

Atmane isn’t just a guy with a killer backhand. He happens to be a die-hard Pokémon card collector, and he has some serious thoughts on this record-breaking transaction. Atmane said on Tennis Channel:

Overpaid by the buyer, that’s for sure. He bought it for 5.3 millions in 2023, was already huge. The comparison between a PSA 9 and PSA 10 is usually two or three times the value, so I was hoping that in a PSA 9… I know a friend who bought it for 1.2 million. So for me, it was never going to go above 4 million, so 5.3 was already big…. And sixteen and a half million… honestly, great job, because now it’s the most valuable Pokémon card of all time, the biggest sale ever in every single TCG. It’s great that Logan Paul made history again, buying the most expensive and selling for the most.

To understand the sheer magnitude of this deal, look at the history. Paul originally purchased this holy grail of the Pokémon community back in 2023 for a breezy $5.3 million. Fast forward three years, and he has officially flipped it for $16.5 million. It goes down in the history books as the single most expensive sale in the history of trading card games.

For the average sports fan, grasping the value of a Pikachu card can be tough. But think of it like finding a mint-condition Mickey Mantle rookie card sitting at the bottom of a shoebox. It’s the ultimate collector’s dream. However, not everyone in the hobby thinks this specific deal makes financial sense.

Terence Atmane serves an ace on Logan Paul’s deal

Right now, Terence Atmane is making some serious noise on the tennis court. He recently dismantled Felix Auger-Aliassime and is currently gearing up for a massive, high-stakes showdown against American favorite Frances Tiafoe at the Miami Open. But between practice sessions, Atmane took off his sweatband, put on his appraiser hat, and got brutally honest about Paul’s massive payday.

Logan Paul
Logan Paul (via Yahoo Sports)

According to Atmane, Petipas completely whiffed on the valuation. The tennis pro dropped some heavy knowledge on the grading scales, noting that a PSA 9 version of the card typically hovers around $1.2 million. Even factoring in the premium for a flawless PSA 10, Atmane stated the absolute ceiling for this card should realistically sit right around $4 million to $5 million.

To put it in sports terms, Atmane essentially called this the biggest free-agent overpayment in history. Yet, even while calling out the massive overpay, he couldn’t help but tip his cap to the sheer spectacle of it all, acknowledging that it is undeniably the biggest sale ever across any trading card game.

From the Tennis court to the card binder

Why does the opinion of a tennis player matter in the world of collectible monsters? Because Atmane walks the walk. He isn’t just a casual fan who bought a few booster packs at the local convenience store. He is a high-end collector with some heavy hitters in his own personal binder, including the highly coveted Gold Star Latios and Latias cards.

Terence Atmane Cincinnati Open 2025
Terence Atmane (image via Instagram/Terence Atmane)

The wild thing about Logan Paul’s astronomical sale is that a rising tide lifts all boats. Even if Atmane thinks the buyer got taken to the cleaners, that $16.5 million price tag instantly injects hype into the entire Pokémon market. Niche cards, including the ones sitting safely in Atmane’s collection, just saw a bump in value simply because the market ceiling has been blown completely off its hinges.

Atmane has to put the Charizards and Pikachus out of his mind. He has a massive match against Frances Tiafoe staring him down. If he plays his cards right, he might just take home enough prize money to buy a few more legendary collectibles of his own.

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