Week 1 of the NFL season is officially in the books and it’s time to look at which rookie cards of active players benefitted the most from on-the-field play.
To construct this list, I used data from Cardladder. To make this list, a card needed to have a minimum value of $250, and I used just 1 rookie card per player. All positional players were considered for the list, but the fastest-growing cards after week 1 happened to all be quarterbacks.
Tom Brady is 44 years old but it did not show on the field Thursday night after he led the Tampa Bay Bucs to a victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Brady earned a 93.0 PFF grade in Week 1, the highest of any Quarterback.
On September 8th, a 2000 Upper Deck Star Rookie Base PSA 10 (pop 156) sold for $6,000 and by September 12th, it sold for $10,300.
Brady has 7 Super Bowl rings and his cards appreciated in value significantly in 2021. It’s hard to say whether or not his cards are selling at prices that have built-in an eighth championship, but it will be fun to continue watching him defy his age this season.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles silenced a lot of doubters this Sunday with a dominant 32-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Hurts was graded 89.5 by PFF after posting a 77.1% completion rate with 264 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 62 rushing yards.
His Prizm Rookie PSA 10 base card sold for $325 on 9/13 after selling for $197.25 just two days earlier.
Toward the end of February, this card hit a high of $525, likely with the rumors of a Cason Wentz trade, which would give way to Hurts becoming the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback.
The card has a population of 335, up from 207 in early June.
Kyler Murray dominated the Tennesee Titans on Sunday, throwing 4 passing touchdowns and rushing for a touchdown. Murray’s 2019 Prizm Red White & Blue sold for $576.33 on 9/12, a jump from a $344 sale on 9/11.
This card has a population of 185, up from 171 in June. Murray is a player to keep an eye on this season both with his dual-threat ability and further rapport with top wide receiver Deandre Hopkins.
Murray’s rookie cards peaked in late September of 2020 (this particular card sold for $948 on 9/24/2020) and it will be fun to see if he keeps up this play and if his rookie cards hit the same trend.
Justin Herbert was the most hyped rookie quarterback after the 2020 season and his card prices reflected that with his Prizm Silver PSA 10 hitting $6,200 in April of 2021.
Herbert received an 84.7 PFF grade for his week 1 performance after defeating the Washington Football team 20-16.
His Prizm Silver PSA 9 sold for $699.95 on 9/12, just 3 days after a $545 sale.
This card peaked at $1,110 in April and expectations are high to see Herbert build off of his offensive rookie of the year campaign from 2020.
Jameis Winston played the Green Bay Packers and reigning NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers, on Sunday. Winston finished with 5 touchdowns to 0 interceptions, while Rodgers threw two picks and didn’t find the end-zone once.
Winston is a former #1 overall draft pick who has an opportunity to shine in New Orleans now that Drew Brees is retired.
This card sold for $285 on 9/11 after selling for $228.50 just two days earlier. It’s worth mentioning that the card hit $300 on 8/29 off the heals of his announcement as the Saints starting quarterback two days earlier.
Sam Darnold finds himself on a new team this season but got the chance to open Week 1 against the Jets, his former team. Darnold threw for a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown to lead the Panthers to a 19-14 win over the Jets.
His 2018 Optic Downtown has a population of just 26 and sold for $299.99 on 9/12. The card has been steadily rising in value since October of last year when it sold for just $64.
Dak Prescott is back from an ankle injury that left him sidelined for the majority of the 2020 season. Despite losing to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Prescott threw for over 400 yards with 3 touchdowns to 1 interception.
This card sold for $884 on 9/13. The card did hit nearly $1,200 in August with the excitement leading up to the season. The Dallas Cowboys have a high-powered offense with plenty of quality receivers for Prescott to keep putting up big numbers.
The NFC East was a mess last year, but perhaps the Cowboys have a shot at winning the division and making a playoff run.
Joe Burrow is back in action after an ACL injury and his Red, White & Blue Prizm PSA 10 rookie card sold for $490.24 on 9/12. This card hit $875 on August 23rd, before dipping to $416.11 on 9/11. The card has a population of 233 copies and Burrow took the Bengals to an overtime victory over the Minnesota Vikings this past Sunday.
Burrow threw for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Vikings.
Deshaun Watson didn’t see any action on the field this week but his rookie Prizm PSA 10 went up in value slightly. The card itself is a refractor, but it’s important to keep in mind that there were no base cards in 2017 Prizm football. This card has a population of 2,224 and sold for $535 on 9/13, perhaps in anticipation of a trade to a new team.
This card sold for over $1,300 in February after a season where Watson threw for 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Russell Wilson threw for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 28-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Wilson and the Seahawks struggled a bit last year and there were rumors that he wanted out of the organization, but that doesn’t take away from his top-tier talent.
2012 was the first year of Prizm Football and Wilson’s towel-down Prizm variation has a population of 342. A PSA 9 copy of the card sold for $377.56 on 9/13 after hitting a pre-season low of $262 in mid-August.
In late September of last year, this card sold for $949.99.
