Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA) is set to receive a $200 million investment from its parent company, Collectors, according to an announcement on Thursday.

The purpose of the investment is to help “grow the company’s physical footprint, develop and deploy new technology and hire for 1,000 open and planned positions through 2026,” per The Athletic.

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Those in the collectibles or card-collecting game are very familiar with PSA. It is considered the top option when submitting a trading card or collectible to get “graded.” A PSA-10 grade is the highest possible grade and tends to substantially increase the product’s value.

Conversely, a low grade from PSA — like an 8.0 or below — tanks the item’s worth. The lone stipulation is that if somehow your item is graded a PSA 1, the lowest possible grade, some collectors actually hunt for those grades, and it does have some merit.

PSA is the industry leader in grading collectibles. The main product is trading cards, and in 2025, PSA graded over 19 million cards. Their largest competitor reportedly graded only about 5 million cards.

While 19 million is extremely impressive, it is also up 2 million from 2024, indicating a clear need for expansion to meet consumers’ ongoing needs.

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Collectors president Ryan Hoge spoke with The Athletic about the investment and planned expansion.

“ To maintain the PSA standard at this scale, we have to grow holistically. This expansion impacts the entire life cycle of a collectible—from a larger, more efficient receiving and logistics area to an expanded grading floor that accommodates our growing team.

We are also significantly increasing our PSA Vault footprint to ensure we provide the most secure environment for the high-value collections entrusted to us.”

Part of the expansion and investment will be to create more than 1,000 new jobs at the company. Those who submit cards for grading will likely be intrigued by this option, as currently it can take up to 160 business days to receive your graded submission back from the company, depending on the level of service you pay for.

So far, PSA has graded more than 8 million cards in 2026, a 39% year-over-year increase. This is a trend that is measured and that Hoge says is part of why the expansion is necessary.

“We do not view the current demand as a temporary surge.

The global collecting community has experienced a historic and sustained boom, and the market has fundamentally matured. … Every dollar of this $200 million is backed by exhaustive data modeling to ensure we are building a sustainable infrastructure that protects the health of the hobby for the next decade, not just the next month.”

PSA is headquartered in Southern California but, over the last five years, has opened additional facilities in Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Tokyo. Each grader at the company must go through “Graders University,” a collectors’ training program for product trading, and part of the investment will go toward streamlining and expanding that venture, per Hoge.

“A portion of this investment is dedicated to ‘Graders University,’ our industry-leading training program. Every new PSA grader must complete this rigorous curriculum and execute thousands of supervised evaluations before grading independently.

Part of our $200 million commitment is integrating new technology directly into that training process and expanding education on emerging counterfeit techniques, ensuring our experts have the best possible education before they ever touch a customer’s card.”

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The hobby has a history of predominantly being focused on sports cards. In more recent years, increased interest in Pokémon, trading card games (TCG), and non-sports cards led Collectors to increase their efforts to expand to meet the ever-increasing demands of the public.

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If the numbers continue to increase the way they have for PSA, this may not be the last expansion in the company’s future.

NEW DELHI: Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered their fifth straight defeat in IPL 2026 as Mumbai Indians (MI) registered a six-wicket win in a crucial clash on Thursday in Dharamsala. Shardul Thakur’s four-wicket haul and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 75 helped Mumbai chase down 201 in 19.5 overs and further dent Punjab’s playoff hopes.Batting first after being put in, Punjab got off to a strong start through Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh. The pair added 50 runs in 33 balls, taking the side to 55 for 1 in the powerplay. Priyansh made 27 before Deepak Chahar cleaned him up in the sixth over.Prabhsimran then added another 57 runs with Cooper Connolly as Punjab crossed the 100-run mark in the 12th over. The opener made 57 and reached his fifty with a single before hitting another six off Shardul Thakur over backward square leg.However, Mumbai fought back strongly in the middle overs. Shardul, who had conceded 15 runs in his first over, removed Prabhsimran and skipper Shreyas Iyer (4) within three balls to shift momentum.Most wins in 200+ chases in T20s

Raj Bawa also contributed by dismissing Connolly and then taking a sharp catch at short midwicket to remove Suryansh Shedge off Shardul’s bowling. Punjab kept losing wickets as Shashank Singh and Marco Jansen departed cheaply.Despite the collapse, Azmatullah Omarzai played an important hand in the death overs. He scored 38 off 17 balls with two sixes and a four. Vishnu Vinod and Xavier Bartlett also chipped in as Punjab collected 53 runs in the final three overs to finish at 200 for 8.For Mumbai, Deepak Chahar took 2 for 36 while Shardul finished with 4 for 39.Chasing 201, Mumbai began aggressively through Ryan Rickelton, who attacked from the start despite Rohit Sharma struggling at the other end. Rickelton smashed 48 off 23 balls with four fours and four sixes as Mumbai raced to 59 without loss.Punjab pulled things back briefly after removing Rickelton, Naman Dhir and Rohit Sharma. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a tight spell and dismissed Rohit as Mumbai slipped to 89 for 3.Tilak Varma then steadied the innings. He added 61 runs with Sherfane Rutherford, who scored 20, before taking charge in the closing overs. Punjab had a chance to dismiss Tilak, but Marco Jansen dropped a difficult catch off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling.With 72 needed from the last five overs, Tilak and Rutherford attacked Chahal and collected 20 runs in one over. Even after Rutherford fell, Tilak continued the chase confidently.He hit Marco Jansen for two sixes and a four in the 18th over, which went for 22 runs and pushed Mumbai ahead in the game. Needing 15 runs in the final over, Tilak finished the chase with two sixes.Tilak remained unbeaten on 75 off 33 balls as Mumbai reached 201 for 4 in 19.5 overs.The defeat left Punjab needing wins in both their remaining matches to stay alive in the race for the playoffs.

Sir Alex Ferguson has an alternative role when it comes to Manchester United manager searches

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Michael Carrick’s anticipated appointment as Manchester United’s permanent manager.

United have considered alternative candidates but Carrick has consistently been viewed as the leading contender. Significantly, as reported by the Mirror this week, co-owners the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe agree that he merits remaining in the role. That support extends to the club’s most successful ever manager, Ferguson.

Since stepping down in 2013, the Scot was frequently consulted on managerial matters. While that hasn’t occurred on this occasion, it is understood he supports the likely permanent appointment of Carrick.

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Carrick would become the seventh permanent manager since Ferguson’s retirement. Ferguson personally selected his successor, David Moyes, but has been less involved in recent years. He supported Jose Mourinho’s appointment in 2026, jokingly advising the Portuguese manager to “bring an umbrella” for Manchester’s wet weather.

Mourinho said of Ferguson at the time: “His opinion is an important opinion for me in the same way that many legends in this club love the club and are in the punditry industry, so every opinion will be important for me.”

Ferguson also seemed to establish a strong rapport with Erik ten Hag, dining out with the Dutch manager. Although Ferguson, a non-executive director, hasn’t been formally consulted lately, he has been informed of developments concerning Carrick.

The former Middlesbrough manager has exceeded all expectations since taking charge in January, following the conclusion to Ruben Amorim’s troubled tenure.

Carrick has overseen a dramatic turnaround in both atmosphere and performances, with United securing Champions League football with three games to spare and closing in on a third-place Premier League finish.

That remarkable revival has placed the club’s former midfielder, captain and coach in the driving seat to retain the position, with discussions understood to be ongoing ahead of the season’s conclusion.

Carrick also enjoys backing from several of his former United colleagues, amongst them Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. Rooney has urged the club to appoint Carrick as soon as possible, given what promises to be a hectic summer of transfer activity as Carrick looks to reshape the squad.

Speaking on the BBC, Rooney said: “I think for the club to announce him, I think they need to do it swiftly because they need to get players in. They need to get players to improve that team.”

Meanwhile, Ferdinand told talkSPORT: “He’s earned the right to manage Manchester United. He’s taken us to third convincingly. On that alone, he deserves an opportunity.”

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

Carlo Ancelotti has extended his contract as Brazil manager, committing to lead the national team through to the 2030 World Cup.

The Italian took the Selecao job after leaving Real Madrid at the end of the 2024-25 season, and has since guided them to this summer’s finals in the US, Mexico and Canada.

Despite suffering six defeats during their CONMEBOL qualifying campaign, the former Chelsea and Everton boss secured a fifth-place finish.

Brazil are drawn into Group C, alongside Scotland, Morocco and Haiti, with Ancelotti aiming to guide the South American nation to their first World Cup success since 2002.

Speaking on the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) website, Ancelotti expressed his dedication: “I arrived in Brazil a year ago. From the first minute, I understood what football means to this country.

“For a year, we have been working to bring the Brazilian national team back to the top of the world, but the CBF and I want more: more victories, more time, more work.

“We are very happy to announce that we will continue together for another four years. We will go together until the 2030 World Cup. I want to thank the CBF for their trust. Thank you, Brazil, for the warm welcome and for all the affection.”

Brazil have won the World Cup on five occasions, making them the most successful nation in the tournament’s history. However, it has been almost a quarter of a century since their last triumph.

They have been eliminated at the quarter-final stage in the last two World Cups, losing to Belgium in 2018 before being knocked out on penalties by Croatia four years ago.

Brazil did reach the semi-finals of their home World Cup in 2014, but they suffered humiliation in the last four as they were thrashed 7-1 by eventual champions Germany.

In the Premier League, Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium and are now just two points behind Arsenal in the title race.

In Italy, Inter Milan won the Italian Cup with a 2-0 victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, completing the third league and cup double in the club’s history.

In Spain, Alavés defeated Barcelona 1-0, reigniting the relegation battle in La Liga with just two matches remaining in a very tight table.

In tennis, Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek both reached the semi-finals in Rome, while Elina Svitolina produced an upset against Elena Rybakina (2-6, 6-4, 6-4).

In the EuroLeague, Valencia qualified for the Final Four after eliminating Panathinaikos (81-64).