Leonard Fournette has taken hits from NFL linebackers. Apparently, an 8 from PSA hurt worse.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back and Super Bowl LV champion posted a video displaying a Cooper Flagg 2025-26 Topps Cosmic Chrome Planetary Pursuit Mars card that he said Flagg signed for him in person at Fanatics.
Fournette had one problem with the finished slab: PSA graded the autograph an 8.
“PSA, I’m so pissed off at y’all. Y’all just don’t know,” Fournette said in the video. “What is wrong with this Cooper Flagg auto to get a f***ing 8? I got this in-person at Fanatics.”
He then held the card toward the camera, seemingly inviting collectors — and PSA — to find the flaw.
That is where things get interesting.
PSA Explains What Can Turn an Autograph Into an 8
An autograph grade is different from the grade assigned to the physical card.
PSA grades certified autographs from 1 through 10, with 10 representing the highest mark. The company says the grade is based on the quality of the signature, emphasizing its strength, appearance and presentation.
PSA describes an 8, or “NM-MT,” as a high-end autograph that might initially look like a 9 but reveal a defect under closer inspection.
Those potential issues include a noticeable but minor skip in the ink, slightly weaker boldness, light fading, minor bleeding, uneven portions of the signature or a small retrace by the signer. Placement can also hurt the grade if it diminishes the autograph’s visual appeal.
That provides considerably more context for Fournette’s complaint.
Getting the autograph directly from Flagg speaks to its provenance. It does not guarantee a 10. PSA is judging how the signature itself presents, not simply whether the collector watched the athlete sign it.
Exactly what PSA saw in Fournette’s card cannot be determined from his video alone.
Fournette’s Cooper Flagg Card Is Part of a Significant Chase
The card underneath the signature is not ordinary Flagg cardboard.
Topps released 2025-26 Cosmic Chrome Basketball in April 2026 and included Planetary Pursuit among the product’s principal chase inserts. The concept progresses through Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and finally Pluto, with the cards becoming increasingly difficult to find farther along the sequence.
Cooper Flagg is card No. 8 in the Planetary Pursuit checklist.
One published checklist estimates the Mars version at approximately one in every 2,400 packs, making it considerably tougher than the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Earth versions while still below the scarcity of Jupiter through Pluto.
The broader Flagg chase has already produced serious prices. A PSA 9 Pluto copy sold through Fanatics Collect for $21,600 in June, while Fanatics Collect currently shows a PSA 10 Mars copy with a Card Ladder guide price of $3,120. Asking prices and guide values are not equivalent to confirmed sales, but they illustrate why condition and grading matter in this particular run.
Fournette knows something about high-stakes finishes himself.
He totaled 135 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown for Tampa Bay in its 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, earning the “Playoff Lenny” nickname during that championship run.
Five years later, he wants another ruling overturned.
This time, the opponent is holding a loupe instead of a football.
Ex-NFL Star Leonard Fournette Rips PSA Over Cooper Flagg Card Grade