Sports collectibles scene shines in Ken Goldin Netflix series

The physical sports collectible market has been under the spotlight thanks to new Netflix series, 'King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch'.

The six part series goes behind the scenes with Ken Goldin, a notorious entrepreneur who has turned a passion for trading baseball cards into a global market-leading auction house, which has sold over $300m of rare collectible items.

A report published earlier this year by MarketDecipher.com valued the global sports memorabilia and trading cards market at $35b in 2023, with projected growth to $227.2b by 2032. Goldin, and his flourishing business are at the forefront of colossal growth market.

Prestigious auction house Sotheby's saw two records for sports memorabilia sales set last year, with a game-worn Michael Jordan jersey trading hands for $10.9m, surpassing the total paid for Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' jersey, which fetched $9.2m.

'King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch' offers a rare look behind the scenes at Goldin, and the trials and tribulations of Ken Goldin and his team of memorabilia experts. The docu-series, produced by two-time Super Bowl champion, Peyton Manning, features cameos from a cross-section of colourful sporting characters including Mike Tyson, Ric Flair and Joe Montana, as well as pop culture superstars Logan Paul and Drake.

An avid collector of sports memorabilia himself, Goldin counts a signed Jackie Robinson contract as the most historic piece from his own collection, 'I held the actual documents that were signed by Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson, in 1947, that signed him to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. That may be the most historic item that I've ever been associated with.'

However, having owned such a vast range of historic cultural artefacts over the years, Goldin - a modern day raconteur - continued with a further anecdote, 'We sold the actual pair of handcuffs that Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested after shooting President Kennedy [and] the autographed Double Fantasy album that John Lennon signed, and gave to Mark David Chapman before he was murdered'.

A search through Goldin's current listings on its online market place conjures up pieces as diverse as a document signed by Wolfgang Mozart, a gown warn by Kate Winslet when filming 'Titanic' and the game-used Air Jordan sneakers from the 1997 NBA finals' 'Flu Game', signed by Michael Jordan.

A treasure trove of #1 edition comics, rare Pokemon cards, pop culture relics and moments of sporting history, Goldin's online platform has many of the most rare and desirable collectibles in existence.

'King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch' shows how Goldin comes to acquire such pieces, as well as offer an insight into the minds of some of the world's most prolific collectors.

Viewers of this fascinating series will also grow their understanding of grading and authentication of collectibles and memorabilia.

Blockasset have previously released hybrid sports collectibles, that exist as both a physical item, and an athlete-verified digital collectible as an NFT - such as the Lutadores collection, which featured Brazilian MMA greats Glover Texeira, Deiveson Figueiredo, Gilbert Burns and Gregory Rodrigues, and a separate collection with former UFC champion, Alex Pereira.