On Nov. 6, 2026, Upper Deck named Wayne Gretzky its second "Legacy Partner," a status it had given only to Michael Jordan. To mark it, the company is bringing back the Upper Deck Master Collection – Wayne Gretzky for the first time in 25 years: 250 numbered wooden boxes, sold only on UpperDeckStore.com at $5,999.99 each, one per customer.

What Upper Deck Announced

Upper Deck's release, datelined Carlsbad, California, and Toronto, describes the move as an expansion of its "longstanding exclusive agreement" with Gretzky. The Legacy Partner distinction, it says, "includes exclusive rights to produce premium and highly sought-after autographed collectibles, including trading cards and memorabilia, featuring his authenticated signature and likeness." SI Collectibles' Brendan Darr summed the deal up the same day as a partnership "that will keep Gretzky exclusive to the Upper Deck brand."

Jordan was the first. Upper Deck's extended partnership with him was CASE #0149 in July. Gretzky is now the second name on that list.

The announcement came with three other pieces. The Hockey Hall of Fame's resource centre has been renamed the "Walter Gretzky Upper Deck Hockey Resource Centre," after Wayne's late father. A small display in the non-ticketed foyer in front of the Hall's entrance in Toronto features a 1-of-1 Upper Deck Authenticated piece, signed and inscribed by Wayne and donated in Walter's honor, alongside artifacts from the Hall's archive. It runs through Nov. 22, 2026. Upper Deck Authenticated is also releasing a line of five Gretzky prints, starting with his time with the Indianapolis Racers. Upper Deck says this is the first time that team has appeared in UDA memorabilia.

"I'm honored to be named an Upper Deck Legacy Partner by a company that has become like a second family to me over the decades we've worked together," Gretzky said in the release. Upper Deck president Jason Masherah said the company was "honored to welcome Wayne as a Legacy Partner."

What $5,999.99 Buys

Upper Deck's store listing gives the box configuration. Each box holds:

  • a complete 25-card Wayne Gretzky base set
  • two Wayne Gretzky autographs (the listing's description says "no fewer than" two)
  • one Diamond Relic base-set parallel, numbered to 10
  • one non-autographed memorabilia card
  • one "Wildcard" hit, which can be an autograph or a memorabilia card

The listing is a preorder with an estimated ship date of Dec. 31, 2026, which Upper Deck notes may change. It carries a hard limit: "LIMIT 1 PER CUSTOMER, DUPLICATE ORDERS WILL BE CANCELLED."

Upper Deck's published checklist shows what those slots draw from. The base set's 25 cards are each numbered to 250 and follow Gretzky from Team Canada through Edmonton, Los Angeles, St. Louis and New York. The relic parallel appears on the checklist as "Diamond Gem Relics Parallel," 25 cards each numbered to 10, and there is a matching autographed version of all 25 numbered 1 of 1.

Beyond the base set and its parallels, the checklist is built from low-numbered hits. Nine Signature Inscriptions cards, each numbered to six, carry notes such as "894 goals," "2857 points" and "4 cups." Signature cards pair Gretzky with Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier, and one quad autograph puts Gretzky, Jordan, Woods and Orr on a single card, numbered to four. Eight 1-of-1 Cut Signature Booklets pair Gretzky with figures such as Jean Béliveau, Toe Blake and Pierre Trudeau.

Analysis: The parallel slot and its print run line up exactly. Every box gets one Diamond Gem Relics parallel, and 25 cards numbered to 10 come to 250 parallels, one for each of the 250 boxes.

Three Boxes Gretzky Signed

Three boxes were signed and inscribed by Gretzky, each matched to its serial number:

  • Box #1/250: "2,857 PTS Number 1"
  • Box #4/250: "4 Stanley Cups"
  • Box #9/250: "9 Hart Trophies"

The serial numbers are the numbers in the inscriptions: box 1 for "Number 1," box 4 for four Stanley Cups and box 9 for nine Hart Trophies.

Second Time Around

This is Gretzky's second Master Collection, and the store page explains how the first one was built. It came out in 2000 as two runs of 150 sets: 150 for Canada and 150 for the U.S. The Canadian base sets had a red deco-foil Maple Leaf stamped in the corner of each card front. The new edition drops the split: one run of 250 sets, sold to Canadian and American buyers alike.

Upper Deck's earlier Master Collections honored Jordan, Tiger Woods, Joe Montana and Muhammad Ali, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and Team Canada hockey. Upper Deck says the Gretzky box is the first release in the series in 10 years. It also makes Gretzky the second athlete with two Master Collections. The first was Jordan.

Analysis: The new run is smaller than the first. The 2000 edition totaled 300 sets across its two versions, and the 2026 edition is capped at 250 in a single version.

Running the Numbers

Analysis: At the list price, 250 boxes come to about $1.5 million ($5,999.99 × 250). That is list price multiplied by the run, not a sales figure.

Confidence note: The Legacy Partner announcement, Hockey Hall of Fame tribute and display dates, UDA print line, signed boxes and quotes come from Upper Deck's Nov. 6, 2026 press release. Price, purchase limit, box configuration, ship date and the history of the 2000 edition and earlier Master Collections come from Upper Deck's UpperDeckStore.com listing. Card subsets and serial numbering come from Upper Deck's published checklist. SI Collectibles (Brendan Darr, Nov. 6, 2026) corroborates the partnership. Passages labeled Analysis are the blog's interpretation. Image: Upper Deck.