Imagine being able to buy a trading card for under $10 and 20 years later it would be worth $3 Million. Well if you were collecting sports cards in the year 2000, that likely would have been the case.
At that time, Tom Brady was a little known rookie QB out of Michigan. Brady was drafted in the 7th round and only completed 1 pass for 6 yards his rookie season. The man who is now widely considered the GOAT only won the starting job after starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, suffered a head injury in the 2nd game of the year.
You probably know the rest of the story but you probably don't know that more than one Tom Brady rookie card have sold for over $1 Million with the most expensive Tom Brady football card topping $3 Million.
It is a fascinating hobby with potential for exponential returns. You just never know what you might be holding.
Let's check out the 15 most expensive football cards ever sold.
15 Most Expensive Football Cards Ever Sold
15. 1986 Topps Jerry Rice
Price: $125,655
The legendary 49'ers wide receiver's PSA 10 Topps Rookie card was sold in February 2021 on eBay through PWCC auctions. In his career, he won 3 Super Bowls, was selected to 13 Pro Bowls, played 20 seasons, and still holds records in just about every receiving category.
14. 1933 Sport Kings Jim Thorpe
Price: $138,000
This PSA 9-rated card was sold for $138,000 in August 2020 by Heritage Auctions. A similar card of this grade was sold in 2016 for $119,000.
Considered by many football pundits as one of the greatest athletes of all, Jim Thorpe was the co-founder of the National Football League and its first president. He won two Olympic gold medals and played professional football and baseball.
13. 1957 Topps Johnny Unitas
Price: $167,300
As a vintage card and only eight copies of this card with a PSA 9 rating, this sale was completed in November 2016 by Heritage Auctions. PSA 9 is the highest rating a vintage card can be awarded due to the print quality of those days.
In February of 2021, there were offers of $190,000 recorded for this card, but to date, this price has not been confirmed and remains an offer only.
12. 1976 Topps Walter Payton Rookie Card #148
Price: $228,000
As one of the few cards that don't have a PSA or BGS rating, this card was sold in February 2021 by Heritage Auctions. This iconic card achieved a rating of Gold Label 10 by the Sports Guaranty Corporation.
Payton was second only to Emmet Smith in rushing yards and was the pioneer of the stiff arm, a technique used to push defenders away from the ball carrier, and he also ranks as arguably the best running back ever.
11. 2005 SP Authentic 1/1 Aaron Rodgers NFL Shield Patch
Price: $229,000
This card was sold in October of 2010 and featured a game-worn patch in pristine condition, contributing to its 9.5 BGS rating and a perfect ten auto for the patch. Rodgers has won Superbowl MVP three times and has one Super Bowl win.
10. 2000 Bowman Chrome Tom Brady Rookie Card
Price: $233,700
This gem of a rookie card is #236 was sold in March of 2021 by Goldin Auctions, and Beckett graded this card as a BGS 9.5, and only 31 other cards have achieved this grade. BGS's population report indicates that only one other 2000 Chrome Tom Brady Rookie card received a BGS 10 rating.
9. 1965 Topps Joe Namath Rookie Card
Price: $264,000
After leading the Jets to their Super Bowl III victory, Namath is one of the most well-known players in history. Heritage Auctions sold this highly coveted card for $264,000 in February 2018. Of the 1403 cards in the population, only five have earned a PSA rating of 9, making them very valuable.
8. 1957 Topps Bart Starr Rookie Card
Price: $288,000
After winning Super Bowl I and II with the Green Bay Packers, Starr entrenched himself in Super Bowl and Packers history and was inducted into the football hall of fame in 1977. This card was sold in February 2017 by Heritage Auctions.
With a population of these cards estimated at 1710, only three have achieved a PSA 9 rating, and no card has achieved a higher rating.
7. 2017 Patrick Mahomes Panini Flawless Rookie Card
Price: $312,000 (Tie)
This rookie card #4 was sold in March of 2021 by Goldin Auctions for $312,000. The card itself has the NFL shield from one of Mahomes' jerseys and his autograph and achieved a BGS rating of 7.5 with the autograph awarded a BGS of 10. This card is also 1/1.
6. 2000 SP Authentic Tom Brady Rookie Card
Price: $312,000 (Tie)
At a tie for the 7th most expensive football card ever sold, this card was sold in April 2021 by Goldin Auctions. It received a BGS rating of 10 and a 2000 SP Authentic rating from Upper Deck. As Brady continues to perform in the NFL, his many cards, especially those in pristine condition, will continue to increase in value and demand.
5. 1958 Topps Jim Brown Rookie Card
Price: $358,500
This card, #62 from 1958, shows one of the great power running backs in NFL history in his prime. As one of the most valuable non-quarterback cards ever made and sold, this one was rated PSA 9 and was sold in 2016 at a Heritage Auction for $358,500.
With a card population of 3619, only five have graded at PSA 9, which is 0.001% of the population. Brown played for nine seasons, and he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
4. 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski
Price: $750,000
This card from 1935 shows the legendary superstar runner in his prime before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963. This card is #34 of 36 cards, and they are very rare and were sold by Heritage Auctions for a whopping $750,000!
The card shows Nagurski playing at the University of Minnesota in his All-American uniform. Nagurski was a running back for the Chicago Bears from 1930-1937 and also played a stint with them in 1943, but there were no cards of him issued then, and the set of 36 is the only surviving one today.
The Most Valuable Football Cards That Sold For $1 million Or More
The previous cards are all valuable, but the next three sold for more than one million dollars, and two belong to Tom Brady, although he does not hold the number 1 spot on this list.
3. 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Autograph Tom Brady
Price: $2,252,854.80
As a player with seven Super Bowl rings, Brady's cards are highly sought after and create great interest and hype when going to auction. This card was auctioned by Leland's in April of 2021, where it fetched over $2.2 million.
The card has a BGS rating of 8.5 with an auto of 9, and it's incredible to think that this card could have been snapped up for just $4901 in 2016! Wouldn't that have been a sweet windfall?
Another Tom Brady card, also a #144 Championship Ticket Autograph, sold a few weeks after this one for $1,680,000, and that one had a BGS of 8.5 with an auto 10.
A similar card, also the #144 but with a BGS of 8, 10 Auto, sold for $1,320,000 and was a private sale brokered by PWCC and sold to the CEO of Fitbit, who is a long-time fan of the superstar quarterback and another card of the 100 available, also with a BGS rating of 8 and 10 auto sold for $1,080,000.
2. 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Autograph Tom Brady
Price: $3,107,132
The same version of the cards before, but with a BGS of 9 and 10 Auto, shows the difference in the quality and condition of the card to its value.
Even though the difference in BGS was just 0,5, this rare card in exceptional condition fetched more than $854,000 in price than the card rated at BGS 8.5 – this is a 38% increase in value! Another great irony with this card is that in February of 2008, the same card fetched just $4450!
As a player, Tom Brady has more than $9 million worth of cards, and it's not surprising that as his exploits and success have exploded, the value of his cards has followed suit. So if you have a Tom Brady card lying around or get your hands on one for a good price, check it out because it could be something special!
But, with all his fame and success, Tom Brady does not hold the number one spot on this list; that honor belongs to another superstar quarterback- can you guess who?
1. Panini National Treasure Platinum Rookie Card Patrick Mahomes
Price: $4.3 million
Card # 161 from 2017 is the most expensive football card ever sold, eclipsing Tom Brady's $ 3.1 million price tag by more than $1.1 million!
This is a one-of-a-kind card from Panini, signed by Mahomes himself, and was ranked 8.5 by BGS plus the NFL Shield and a BGS 10 for the signature. As a 1/1 edition, it was released by Panini in the National Treasures 2017 collection and sold for a record price in July 2021.
It is one of two Patrick Mahomes rookie cards to sell for over $1 Million.
Considering Mahomes has made and continues to make contributions to the Chiefs, you can be certain that his cards will be snapped up as quickly as they come out. If Tom Brady's cards are anything to go by, we could see another Mahomes card eclipsing this record in the near future.
Understanding The Grading Systems
When we look at these cards, we will see references to BGS and PSA grading values, and this is an important aspect to understand when it comes to the value of sports cards, especially if you have collectible cards or could be looking to have your valued.
What Is The BGS Grading System
This rating is provided by Beckett Grading Services, and the recognized industry specialists and their grading system work on a simple 1-10 rating service that considers the various characteristics of the card.
Beckett has used a color-coded label system to easily denote the quality and value of the card, so a gold label represents a card rating of between 9.5 and 10. In contrast, a silver label would indicate a card rating of 8.5-9.
Another service that Beckett provides is its detailed report card that clearly explains why the card received its rating. Ratings are based on four subcategories of the card's appearance, and those are:
- Centering
- Surfaces
- Edges
- Corners
Each receives its rating, and then the overall rating is allocated to the card. The BGS rating would also consider the card's authenticity and whether it has been altered. Card ratings would also be influenced by the card number and how many were produced – so if the card is numbered 5 out of 20, it has more value than a card numbered 200 out of 1000.
The Beckett system rates each card and subcategory and uses an algorithm to determine the final card rating score, with one being poor and ten being pristine. A card with a BGS 10 rating is exceptionally rare in sports cards.
What Is The PSA Rating System
Unlike BGS, the PSA grading system does not use half points in their ratings, but they also use the rating system of 1-10 to determine the quality of the card. Like the BGS system, a card with a rating of 1 would be poor, while a 10 rating would be considered Gem Mint.
In addition to the numerical rating, PSA includes six ‘qualifiers' that add extra information about the card's appearance. These qualifiers are marks, miscut, off-center, staining, print defect, and out-of-focus – two qualifiers are required in every grading, and four are optional.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell if a football card is worth money?
Google is a wonderful thing. Start with a quick Google search of the exact card. This can get you in the ball park and help you identify if one of your football cards has any significant value.
The best way to find out exactly how much your football cards are worth is to perform a search within Ebay. After searching for the card, be sure to filter for only sold items. You can then filter by least or most expensive to get an idea of your football card's worth.
Lastly, you can subscribe to a service like Card Ladder. Card Ladder compiles ebay data along with data from auction houses to identify the value of just about any trading card out there. Card Ladder does some pretty cool stuff and has a much larger database that goes back further than Ebay's data.
What is the rarest NFL football card?
Now that Panini National Treasures make 1/1 cards, technically any Panini 1/1 card is tied for the most rare football cards. Excluding the forced scarcity of modern football cards, the most rare NFL football card is widely considered the 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski.
