Ex-NFL star made over $11,500,000 in revenue selling Pokemon cards, including rare Pikachu Illustrator

The Pokemon Trading Card game has been cemented as a big name in collectibles for decades now, and individuals from all walks of life have acquired an interest in the game. The collector market for many of the game's cards has ballooned in value, and some community members come from unexpected backgrounds, as is the case with ex-NFL linebacker Blake Martinez.

Martinez enjoyed seven seasons as a member of the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Las Vegas Raiders after being drafted by Green Bay in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. However, his playing career has given way to a lucrative job collecting and selling rare, high-value Pokemon cards, netting him over $11,500,000.

Among his greatest acquisitions was one considered the "Holy Grail" of the Pokemon TCG, a card known as "Pokemon Illustrator" from 1998, an immensely rare unnumbered promotional card.

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How do Blake Martinez and others make millions with the Pokemon TCG?

Like many card sets and games before and after it, the Pokemon TCG has produced countless new cards since its debut in the late 90s. However, as is expected with any collectible card game, some cards are much more valuable, either due to their exclusive nature and quality or their effectiveness within the game itself.

Since many cards were only printed once and provided in limited quantities, their rarity and value have ballooned. Look no further than Pokemon Illustrator as the prime example, a Japanese promotional card provided to the winners of three art contests held in the CoroCoro Comic Magazine.

There are purported to be roughly 41 of these cards in existence that aren't copies of the original, which is exactly what makes it the highest-value card in the entire TCG. However, many others possess an insanely high rarity and are coveted by collectors, traders, and sellers worldwide.

According to Martinez in an article with The Athletic, he spent a six-figure sum to purchase the Illustrator card from an auction in Japan. This event in itself is exceedingly rare, as the card's value is well-known, and it isn't often that one changes hands. After the acquisition, the card graded at a 9.5 out of 10 for its condition, making its worth readily apparent.

Martinez is hardly the first prominent figure to make large sums of cash by selling rare Pokemon cards, as big-time names like Logan Paul, Steve Aoki, and Logic have all taken part in the TCG's market. From opening sealed boxes and packs to traveling to auctions and conventions, the TCG's rarest cards have drawn plenty of interest.

The highest-value cards tend to be those no longer in print, were only released on a promotional basis, or feature exclusive artwork that wasn't reproduced during later re-issues of the original cards. There are many other factors at play as well, and a multimillion-dollar industry exists for the sale, trading, and evaluation of the cards.

Obviously, the learning curve to make a profit in the Pokemon TCG is quite high, but many individuals undertake the task anyway. Navigating the market requires extensive knowledge of the value of certain cards, their condition grades, and distribution history, but this is something that many individuals are willing to brush up on.

For Blake Martinez, in particular, it was a long road transitioning from defensive schemes and taking running backs down to the turf to targeting promotional and out-of-print booster packs, boxes, and cards. Still, it has become an illustrious second career for the former linebacker.

The Pocket Monsters franchise continues to be valued as the highest-grossing media franchise on the face of the Earth, and there will likely be opportunities to continue acquiring and selling valuable TCG cards for decades to come. Fans, collectors, and sellers will continue to dot the globe, hoping to snag a rare card that will sell for thousands or even millions.

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Examining what makes the Pikachu Illustrator card so rare in the Pokemon TCG

As previously mentioned, Pokemon Illustrator, also known as the Pikachu Illustrator card, was released in extremely limited quantities in 1997 in Japan. Genuine articles of the card exhibit many features and design choices that aren't typically used in the conventional TCG. The many unique features of this lone Illustrator card include:

• Despite being a Trainer card, this card replaces the "trainer" text at the top of its frame with the word "illustrator." It is the only card in the TCG's history to do so.
• It is the only card with a pen logo at the bottom right of its design.
• This card is one of the few Japanese promotional cards to possess the coveted double-star rarity grade.
• The in-game text for the card is replaced with a thank you on behalf of The Pokemon Company for the illustration submissions by community members. The latter half of the text certifies the owner as an "officially authorized Pokemon card illustrator."

Unfortunately, Pikachu Illustrator and many other highly-valued cards in the TCG have inspired an industry of counterfeits, leading some people and groups to sell fake cards at massively inflated sums. At this point in its history, very few genuine Pokemon Illustrator cards can be obtained without working with certified grading groups and sellers.

Regardless, the Pikachu Illustrator card is the foremost example of the lucrative market created by the Pocket Monsters franchise's popularity. Even after over 25 years, the TCG continues to be fun to play, fun to collect cards in, and breathtakingly lucrative for savvy fans.