Sophie Cunningham’s apparel, card markets soaring

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Six years into her WNBA career, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has become an overnight fan favorite.

And all it took was a fight and a fine.

Cunningham was ejected from last Tuesday’s game against the Connecticut Sun when she was assessed a flagrant-2 foul for pulling guard Jacy Sheldon down from behind during a layup attempt.

According to Cunningham, that foul, which resulted in a brawl between the two teams, was an attempt to protect Fever guard Caitlin Clark — and the fans loved it.

Cunningham’s social-media following immediately exploded in the aftermath, with her Instagram and TikTok accounts gaining more than 1 million followers combined.

As of Monday, her Instagram following had grown to more than 900,000, while her TikTok account had topped more than 1.3 million followers.

According to Sportico, a new brand could spend $1 million or more attempting to gain a similar number of followers to Cunningham.

Interest in Cunningham has spilled into her cards and apparel, too, far outpacing the reported $400 fine she received in value.

Apparel brand 500 Level confirmed to cllct it has sold more than 2,300 Cunningham T-shirts over the last week.

Cunningham’s trading card market has seen its two top sales in recent days as well.

According to eBay research tool Terapeak and third-party data tool Card Ladder, Cunningham’s two most expensive trading card sales occurred June 19 and 20, when cards sold for $2,000 and $1,800 each.

Prior to June 19, the highest price paid for any Cunningham card at public auction was the $798 paid for a 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA FOTL Lotus in May.

Cunningham’s card market currently lags far behind Clark’s — her high sale is $366,000, which is the most paid for any WNBA card and any card of a female athlete — but interest could continue to surge alongside the league’s most popular player.

Clark’s popularity has helped grow the WNBA and its associated markets, and Cunningham could emerge as one of the league’s biggest beneficiaries simply for protecting her teammate.

Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.