Sports cards are no longer a thing of the past. With an increase in overall sports viewership and with the instant ability to access an ever-growing base of popular athletes, it only makes sense that sports cards would find their rightful place back in the United States.
Being a shop owner over these past years has given me an interesting and unique look at what collectors, investors, and flippers are making popular. Grading companies, eBay, the increase in the use of mobile payment services, and, of course, the rapid growth in social media has only fueled the rise. In all of the recent attention, a few cards have definitely emerged to the top. Popularity and value seem to intertwine in the hobby community and the following list of modern sports cards should help you navigate the modern scene.
Now, before I get to this list, let’s qualify a few things:
- Modern cards are considered to be cards that are not "vintage" cards, and depending on what circles you vibe in, vintage cards typically mark their way backward from sometime in the '70s. In contrast, modern cards would be considered everything else until now.
- There are different tiers of value: low, mid, high, really high, and then crazy high end. For purposes of this article, we will focus on the low to the mid/high end, you know, what most people can afford. No 2000 Tom Brady Contenders autographs or 2003-04 Lebron Exquisite RPAs showing up on this list. (RPA = rookie patch autograph… I told you this would be a "modern" list!)
- This list takes on football, baseball and basketball only. Sorry, you hockey and soccer nuts!