The Pittsburgh Pirates offered what they thought was a king's ransom for a rare Paul Skenes baseball card. However, their hopes of owning history were dashed by an 11-year-old.

A collector from California had an opportunity to either accept the Pirates' offer or send the card to auction. The 11-year-old decided to send it to auction, via Topps.

Not only is the card a one-of-one, but it graded out as a PSA 10. For a phenom like Skenes, the collector is sure to earn a pretty penny at auction. Another Skenes one-of-one sold for $123,000. However, that card did not include a game-worn patch. The expectation is that the new Skenes card could sell for upwards of $1 million, according to Larry Holder of The Athletic.

Even an 11-year-old knows that kind of money is too good to pass up on. Still, the Pirates did everything in their power to try and get it into their possession.

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In their offer to the collector who pulled the Skenes card, Pittsburgh included two season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years, a meet and greet with Skenes, two Skenes autographed jerseys, a softball game for 30 at PNC Park, a private tour of Pirates City and an opportunity to watch a game with Livvy Dunne.

While all of those perks may interest some, it's fair to wonder if they're worth the value of what the card will fetch at auction. Since the collector is from California, it's fair to wonder if they're even a Pirates fan. Furthermore, the opportunity to set up long-term opportunities with cold hard cash outweighed anything Pittsburgh could offer.

Skenes himself only increased the value of his card by taking home NL Rookie of the Year. He earned the accolade by pitching to an 11-3 record, 1.96 ERA, and 170/32 K/BB ratio. While the 11-year-old collector could've watched Skenes grow up in Pittsburgh, he'd rather cash in on the Pirates phenom's early success.