The PSA backlog story flipped this week. After months of progress that brought the pile down to 11 million cards, PSA announced the backlog has climbed back to 12.4 million — and the scene at The National suggests the number may keep moving the wrong way.

The Athletic's live coverage from the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Illinois, confirmed the reversal: PSA announced earlier this week that its queue had swelled back to 12.4 million after being reduced to 11 million. The grader had attacked the pile by pausing its four cheapest service levels in June; the backlog previously sat above 15 million before those limits went in. This week's surge shows demand is now overwhelming even the premium-tier intake.

On the Floor: Lines at $230 a Card

Wednesday at The National made the problem visible. The Athletic reported long lines at the PSA booth for on-site grading even at the cheapest available rate of $230 per card — demand so heavy that PSA stopped offering even that tier by the end of the day. According to YouTuber NEO Cards & Comics, PSA said it took in more cards on Wednesday alone than it did across the entirety of last year's National.

Goldin Auctions CEO Ken Goldin, who said in an interview with The Athletic that he is a large PSA shareholder, put a blunt label on it:

"I think the single biggest problem with the hobby right now in my mind is the PSA backlog... I think that is devastating to the industry."

Goldin framed the damage in cash-flow terms: collectors who grade cards to sell are funding their businesses on turnaround, and when submissions stall, so does their revenue. He told The Athletic the backlog "shuts out new revenue" for those collectors and pushes emergency submissions to higher-priced service tiers.

Priced-Out Options

The ripple effect showed up a few booths away. The Athletic noted the Beckett grading booth also drew long lines as collectors priced out of PSA explored alternatives. With The National running through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, the flood of submissions isn't expected to slow until the show closes.

The Verdict

The 11 million milestone was a snapshot, not a trend. The 12.4 million reversal is the first hard evidence that demand — not capacity — is the bottleneck, and it arrived just as the hobby's biggest show of the year put on-site grading in front of tens of thousands of collectors. For anyone waiting on a submission, the near-term picture just got longer.

Confidence Note

This article is based on The Athletic's live blog coverage of the 2026 National Sports Collectors Convention (posts by Brooks Peck, Larry Holder and Lukas Weese, dated July 30, 2026), which was read in full. The National's 2026 dates (July 29 – August 2) and venue (Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois) were confirmed via Choose Chicago's event listing. The Goldin quotation and the $230 on-site detail are attributed to The Athletic as reported.