Hall of Famer and Yankees legend Mickey Mantle remains an immensely popular figure in baseball. How do we know this? We know this because the market tells us so. Please regard ...

Yes, that Mantle card sold at auction for almost $3 million. As Darren Rovell notes, only the famed Honus Wagner card fetched a higher price. Here's another interesting nugget from Rovell regarding the Mantle card ...

The card, graded by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) as a 9 on a scale of 10, was being sold by former NFL offensive lineman Evan Mathis and auctioned by Heritage Auctions.

Mathis, now 36, spent parts of 12 seasons as an offensive guard in the NFL, most recently with the Arizona Cardinals. He announced his retirement in January of last year. Speaking of retirement, selling a baseball card for $2.88 million isn't a bad way to supplement your savings.

Anyhow, that Mantle card wasn't even a rookie card, which tend to be the most valuable cards. Rather, the card was made into a rarity because a Topps exec, per Rovell, dumped more than 300 cases of the 1952 set into the ocean. Here's more on the Mantle card ...

According to ESPN's Outside the Lines, Mathis sold the card in order to help build a dream home for his family.