1952 Mickey Mantle Topps Rookie Card Sold by Evan Mathis for $2.88M

While it didn't quite reach the $3.12 million price tag, a mint-condition 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps rookie made a run at the record for most expensive baseball card.

According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the item recently sold for $2.88 million through Heritage Auctions. The only baseball card to ever fetch more was the legendary Honus Wagner card. 

Former NFL offensive lineman Evan Mathis turned out to be the seller. Per ESPN, he did so to buy a "dream home" for his wife and three daughters. To acquire the card, he traded away "90 percent" of his previous collection and made payments.

In the end, he decided to cash in.

"It's a remarkable price," Chris Ivy, the director of sports auctions at Heritage, told Rovell. "It was 10 years ago when we last had a Mantle 9 sell, but this sold for 10 times that."

The card Ivy is referring to sold for $282,588 back in 2006, per Mark Inabinett of AL.com.

Mathis played 12 seasons in the NFL, suiting up for six teams. He earned two Pro Bowl nods and won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the Denver Broncos. He has not played in the league since the 2016 season.