Football is a sport that people across the globe love. As with sports fans and merchandise, everything related to a sport is a product to manufacture. Like baseball cards and wrestling cards, football has its own set of football cards. The primary target of these cards is to serve as a pastime for children. However, football cards have become a collector’s item in demand now. In this article, you will learn if football cards worth money or not and what the best football cards to invest in are.
1. What are Football Cards?
A football card is a novelty item related to the sport of football. It is typically a card containing a football player’s information. This information usually includes the player’s name and game-related statistics. Football cards are items one collects to trade with other holders of football cards.
It forms the basis of the football card trading game. You would usually horde the cards of your favorite teams or favorite players. Today, however, we have football cards whose value comes from various factors, including age, rarity, and condition. Must read about the Pac Man Ghost Game.
2. Are Football Cards worth anything?
Absolutely, football cards are not only a great collector’s item but also a valuable asset. The most expensive football card had a price tag of about 4 million dollars. Your football cards from long ago are valuable in the market today. In a similar vein, investing in football cards today also has the potential to pay off in the future. (See Which Pokemon Oreos are Rare?)
3. How do I Know if my Football Cards are Worth Money?
You will know if your football cards are worth money if you identify some key factors. You should be aware of your card’s rarity, its player, its year of issuance, and its condition. If the card is in decent condition, you should check the previous sales for an idea of its value. Also, check out what Pokemon Cards are worth Money?
4. How to Determine your Football Cards’ value?
You can get your card’s value evaluated by independent organizations like the BGS (Beckett Grading Services), PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), or SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Corporation). These agencies evaluate the value of your card based on four criteria:
- Condition,
- Year,
- Featured player, and
- Special conditions (like autographs, memorabilia, refractors). (See What is a Hockey Puck made of?)
5. The Most Expensive Football & Valuable Football Cards of all Time (Total of 10)
Over the years, the volume of football cards has grown. This growth has also led to some astounding price tags on these cards. Looking at cards, you should get an idea of what kind of cards are the best football cards. The following (least to most expensive order) are the world’s top ten football cards with the highest value:
- 1935 Chicle Bronko Nogurski Rookie Card #34; Price: 174 thousand USD.
- 1976 Topps Walter Payton Rookie Card #128; Price: 228 thousand USD.
- 2000 Bowman Chrome Tom Brady Rookie Card #236; Price: 234 thousand USD.
- 1965 Topps Joe Namath Rookie Card #122; Price: 264 thousand USD.
- 1957 Topps Bart Starr Rookie Card #119; Price: 288 thousand USD.
- 2017 Panini Flawless Patrick Mahomes Rookie Card #4; Price: 312 thousand USD.
- 2000 SP Authentic Tom Brady Rookie Card #118; Price: 312 thousand USD
- 1958 Topps Jim Browne Rookie Card; Price: 358 thousand USD.
- 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady Championship Ticket Autograph Rookie Card #144; Price: 3.11 million USD.
- 2017 National Treasures NFL Shield Patrick Mahomes Autograph Rookie Card #161; Price: 4.3 million USD. (See What are all the legendary Pokémon?)
From the list, it seems that old cards, autograph cards, and Tom Brady are all the key to massive profits. (See 10 Most Expensive Pokemon Cards)
6. Football Cards Worth Money 1990s
Football card fever was born in the 90s. Football cards are still a part of the culture that surrounds football today. Here’s a list of football cards worth money:
- 1993 Ultra #331 Michael Strahan; Price: 400 USD; Cards available: 9.
- 1999 Bowman’s Best #110 Kurt Warner; Price: 500 USD; Cards available: 14.
- 1996 SP #7 Terrel Owens; Price: 800 USD; Cards available: 10.
- 1996 Bowman’s Best #164 Ray Lewis; Price: 750 USD; Cards available: 8.
- 1990 Score Supplemental #101 T Emmitt Smith; Price: 1,500 USD; Cards available: 5.
- 1997 SP Authentic #6 Walter Jones; Price: Unknown; Cards available: 19.
- 1993 SP #6 Jerome Bettis; Price: 1,600 USD; Cards available: 22.
- 1997 SP Authentic #116 Jason Taylor; Price: Unknown; Cards available: 3.
- 1997 Pacific Philadelphia #199 Adam Vinatieri; Price: 600 USD; Cards available: 1.
- 1998 Topps Chrome #165 Peyton Manning; Price: 1,500 USD; Cards available: 43. (See How to Make a Super Ball?)
7. Football Cards Worth Money 2000s
The football card trading and evaluation fever carried on into the 2000s. Here’s a list of football cards worth money in the 2000s:
- 2010 Bowman Sterling #44 Antonio Brown
- 2007 Topps Chrome #181 Adrian Peterson
- 2004 Topps Chrome #205 Eli Manning
- 2002 Topps Chrome #214 Julius Peppers
- 2003 Leaf Rookies & Stars #132 Antonio Gates
- 2004 Topps Chrome #166 Ben Roethlisberger
- 2004 Topps Chrome #215 Larry Fitzgerald
- 2005 Topps Chrome #190 Aaron Rogers
- 2001 Topps Chrome Rookie Refractor #229 (#/999) Drew Brees
- 2000 SP Authentic #118 Tom Brady. Also, check out how many Rings does Tom Brady have?
8. Football Cards Worth Money 2010s
The 2010s have some of the best football cards to invest in. Here’s a list of the most desirable football cards of the 2010s:
- 2018 Contenders Cracked Ice #105, Josh Allen Rookie Card; Price: 28 thousand USD.
- 2017 Panini Prizm Stained Glass #10, Patrick Mahomes Rookie Card; Price: 14 thousand USD.
- 2017 Panini Contenders Bold Auto #303, Patrick Mahomes Rookie Card; Price: 13 thousand USD.
- 2019 Panini National Treasures #161, Tyler Murray Rookie Card; Price: 11 thousand USD.
- 2019 Select Tie-Dye Prizm XRC #325, Justin Herbert Rookie Card; Price: 10 thousand USD.
- 2019 Panini Select Tie-Dye Prizm XRC #303, Justin Herbert Rookie Card; Price: 9 thousand USD.
- 2018 Panini Prizm Football #205, Josh Allen Rookie Card; Price: 8 thousand USD. (See How Long does the Super Bowl Last?)
9. Football Cards Worth Money 2022
Speaking of today, football cards are still traded across the world. It is now a unique collector’s item, where having a large collection can become competitive. Finding the best football cards to invest in, in 2022 is still a viable option to reap benefits in the long run. As such, here is a list of football cards worth money to invest in, in 2022:
- 2020 Panini Mosaic Football Card Pack
- 2020 Panini Prizm Football Card Pack
- 2017 Panini Prizm Football Card Pack
- 2017 Panini Donruss Optic Football Cello Fat Packs
- 2017 National Treasures NFL Shield Autograph #163, Patrick Mahomes Rookie Card
- 2000 SP Authentic #118, Tom Brady Rookie Card
- 2017 Panini Contenders #303, Patrick Mahomes Rookie Ticket
- 2020 Panini Prizm #325, Justin Herbert Rookie Card. (Also read How to Make Balloon Animals Step by Step Guide?)
