If you’re interested in football, you might also have an interest in NFL trading cards — but which cards are worth money? If you have any of these football cards lying around, you could be in for a big payday.
We’re only a few weeks removed from Chicago’s well-attended National Sports Collectors Convention, but the sale of a particular Patrick Mahomes trading card still has the hobby buzzing. About two hours south of Cleveland, Ohio, in the affluent Columbus suburb of New Albany, one card shop has placed a substantial NFL bet on Chief Patty over Browns Baker as the league’s next great.
Through PWCC Marketplace, LJ’s Card Shop spent $4.3-million on a 2017 Panini National Treasures 1-of-1 Patrick Mahomes rookie, NFL shield patch, autograph graded 8.5 by BGS, which broke the record for the most valuable NFL card ever sold, previously held by the $3.1-million June 2021 auction sale of a Tom Brady rookie autograph, serial-numbered to 100.
Patrick Mahomes’ record-shattering rookie card.
While the trading card hobby as a whole continues to retreat off all-time auction sale highs set back in early 2021, certain collectors will pay a premium for unique and rare pieces of cardboard featuring top-tier, elite athletes. It’s also worth noting that while NBA and MLB trading cards set the bar quite high when it comes average sale price, the NFL cards market has also realized significant capital gains over the past 18 months thanks, in part, to a new wave of young talent demand for autographs of Justin Herbert and scarce gem mints of Tua Tagovailoa.
Rise of Valuable Modern Football Cards
Depending on the age of the NFL football card collector, one might assume nothing has fundamentally changed in the hobby since the last trading card boom of the 1980s and 1990s — and they would be wrong. Back then, like with baseball, Topps and Bowman possessed a notable slice of the NFL card market share.
Today, Topps is no longer licensed to sell NFL trading cards because Panini America holds the exclusive rights as they also do with their NBA line of products.
This evolution from Topps to Panini is fairly new as 2016 marked the first time since 1955 that Topps did not produce NFL trading card sets. Since then, Panini has gained a reputation for helping grow the NFL card market by releasing unique and coveted products that collectors can’t get enough of including their hallmark Panini Prizm set. With Topps watching from the NBA and NFL nosebleeds, Panini has carved out a modern-day niche where the demand for a Panini Prizm rookie card of Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Trevor Lawrence matches, or in some cases exceeds, the demand of Topps and Bowman baseball rookies and prospects.
An example of Panini’s Colour Blast, responsible for driving high trading card prices.
Once Panini started adding more artistry and elements of flair to their designs, the demand reached new highs. Panini’s “Downtown” short-printed foil art cards and “Color Burst” parallels are among the most-wanted and most valuable non-autographed items you’ll find on eBay auctions.
Critics of modern-day NFL collecting will point to high MSRP’s on hobby boxes, too many product lines and below-average customer service. In most cases, they have a strong argument and right to gripe. However, so long as the demand remains strong, the supply will continue to flow, which creates a slight fear of another hobby bubble growing where the end result is a costly loss of monies spent. That is, unless, you’re in it for the enjoyment of collecting and not the dollars and cents investment. For collectors, modern cards have never looked better; the quality of a modern-day players’ signatures is another discussion for another day.
What are Old, Vintage NFL Cards Worth?
Jerry Rice’s 1986 Topps rookie card.
When it comes to vintage NFL trading cards, the most valuable hit the market in two categories: Hall of Fame stars and card condition.
For example, a 1958 Topps Jim Brown rookie card, graded 7 out of 10 by PSA (the biggest card grading company in the world and the standard for valuation), sold for $10,300 earlier this summer. In this case, the quality of the player, Brown being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and quality of the card, PSA 7, drove the price up into the five figures. Know that vintage NFL trading cards were very fragile and to remain in good-to-mint condition five-plus decades later only adds to the allure of collectors looking to buy high-quality, vintage Hall of Fame players.
This also applied to over-produced NFL cards of the 1980s. Affectionately known as the “junk era” due to the fact that Topps and other card companies of the era printed too much and flooded the market, Hall of Fame names of the decade still realize a premium price paid if the condition of the card is up to snuff.
No better example exists than Jerry Rice’s 1986 Topps rookie card, of which countless were printed, but only a select few grade PSA 9 or higher due to the fact that 1986 Topps football cards were condition-sensitive if you didn’t put them in a protective case immediately after removing it from a pack. A PSA 9 Rice rookie fetched $3,000 a couple of times this summer. Only 60 PSA 10 grades exist in the world.
How do I Know if my NFL card is Valuable?
The easiest way to check the value of your NFL or any football card is to check eBay “sold listings,” which is a filter you can select when searching for the card in question.
Should an NFL listing not display the final sales price, like in cases where a best offer was accepted, simply checkout sites like 130point.com or, if you want to study sales over an extended period of time, check out auction research site Worthpoint.com.
Should I Grade my NFL Football Cards?
Aside from “what is my card worth,” the second-most popular question asked by new collectors or those returning to the hobby after a 20-year hiatus is “should I get this graded?” The answer is far more complex than a simple “Yes!” or “No!” because – as I explained in this deep dive into the hobby’s best trading card companies, whether to grade or not comes down to several factors.
These include, but aren’t limited to:
- Is it centered? Left-to-right, top-to-bottom
- How are the corners? Are they razor-sharp or showing signs of whitening and softness?
- How are the edges? Are they clean or showing signs of wear, too?
- What’s the surface condition? Are there print lines or dimples?
Keep in mind PSA, BGS and SGC graders are reviewing the condition of your cards using a jeweler’s loop, which magnifies the card significantly. So, if there is a flaw or two or three, they’re going to find it.
Also, due to the increased demand for card grading during this on-going pandemic, PSA and BGS both ceased accepting new orders for a time before slowly opening up the pipeline again. However, to get a card graded by PSA this moment will cost you at least $200 for their express service which – in theory – should get the card back to you in a month’s time or so.
| Example Card | PSA 7 Value | PSA 8 Value | Raw (Ungraded) Value |
| 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout RC | ~$800 | $900-$1000 | Recent Sales: $800, $917, $800 |
There is a financial risk when you buy a pack or box of cards and there is a significant financial risk when getting a card graded these days, because there are no guarantees of a high grade and the difference in value between a PSA 7 or 8 of a modern card and an ungraded, or raw, card is about the same. You really have to hit on PSA 9’s and PSA 10’s to realize a profit on the initial grading cost.
Risk of Collecting NFL Football Cards
Speaking of risk, I shudder at the thought of dropping $4.3-million on any athlete, but to invest that much in a guy who plays the most physical sport and has experienced a serious injury as recently as last season, you have to wonder — is the reward worth the risk? To invest seven figures in Tom Brady and his seven Super Bowl wins is one thing because he’s accomplished so much over the course of nearly two decades.
Despite the Super Bowl title, Mahomes still has a lot to improve, and one wrong twist of the knee or blow to the head could derail his career — and don’t think for a second that the market value and demand of his rookie card wouldn’t tank because of it. For those collectors with millions of dollars invested, the house of cards would crumble. So, it’s another case of buyer beware and do your homework before shelling out bands of cash.
Interested in putting money on NFL football players? Here are the best sportsbooks to bet on NFL football.
