Why Ultimately Your Football Cards Are Worth Less Than NBA, MLB, NHL...

[7sinVegas7]

...The average NFL career lasts just over 3 years, the lowest of any of the four main sports in the U.S. :

With average NFL career 3.3 years, players motivated to earn MBAs - NFL Nation- ESPN (http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/207780/current-and-former-nfl-players-in-the-drivers-seat-after-completing-mba-program)

[Stats]

what about Quarterbacks

[deansayso]

That's because there's no D league or anywhere overseas to play...

This is why they should require you to get a degree in something worth while or have your scholarship pulled.

what about Quarterbacks

It's probably about the same. I can think of 4 quarterbacks that Denver drafted who played less than 3 years.

[Grid]

But the average player, who plays just over 3.5 years, is never the player that collectors chase.

Same is true in every sport. The value of your collection is not made up of players that didn't even last 4 years in the respective league. Unlike other leagues, there are 52 people on 32 teams in the NFL.

The makeup is quite different when there are 1600+ NFL players every year, not including practice squad guys. Can anyone truly say that 1600+ players have different cards every year? Add in the rookie cards of guys that don't make it past camp and you are still no where near that number, and certainly not in every release!

The star players that put up numbers year after year are the ones driving card pricing. It has nothing to do with the shortened career of most.

To put that into perspective, the average NBA career is just 1 year longer than that of an NFL player. MLB & NHL? Just 1 year longer than the NBA.

The only thing that limits football card pricing is the lack of international appeal. All of the other 3 major leagues have their own source for Pro Ball in many countries.

[asujbl]

But the average player, who plays just over 3.5 years, is never the player that collectors chase.

Same is true in every sport. The value of your collection is not made up of players that didn't even last 4 years in the respective league. Unlike other leagues, there are 52 people on 32 teams in the NFL.

The makeup is quite different when there are 1600+ NFL players every year, not including practice squad guys. Can anyone truly say that 1600+ players have different cards every year? Add in the rookie cards of guys that don't make it past camp and you are still no where near that number, and certainly not in every release!

The star players that put up numbers year after year are the ones driving card pricing. It has nothing to do with the shortened career of most.

To put that into perspective, the average NBA career is just 1 year longer than that of an NFL player. MLB & NHL? Just 1 year longer than the NBA.

The only thing that limits football card pricing is the lack of international appeal. All of the other 3 major leagues have their own source for Pro Ball in many countries.

This. Pretty much spot on.

It's purely an international interest that dictates why Football sells for what it does right now. The lifespan of players is a very minor factor as the guys that only last a few years certainly aren't driving any markets.

[49erRCCollector]

I agree with the fact that Football is worth less, but not because of career length.

I think Football produces less transcendent stars.

You've got (modern era): Brady, Manning that will retain value, collectibility.

Big Ben, Eli, Brees - maybe regionally.

Rivers? Nope.

And any other position? Nope. Des Bryant cards, or Megatron? No way.

Basketball is globally collected. LeBron is a global icon. Jordan is a global icon.

And Baseball has just more of a history and addiction to cardboard. It's all-American. They just go together.

Hockey is out of my wheelhouse.

But I am a fan that gets has his team called the team of the 80s, and won 5 superbowls. BUT... Short of a PSA 10 or 9 graded rookie of 1981 Montana, 1986 Rice or 1984 USFL Young, none hold value.

Owens? Bryant Young, Gore? Not going to hold value. It's a good reason to remember why you collect. To invest, or for love of the hobby.

[hairysasquatch]

Poopnini's diarrheal output of releases this year hasn't helped.

[roberth404]

This is new and exciting, thanks for the reminder

[trixstar]

I'd say it has more to do with a world wide collector base with Basketball especially.

[cookingwine]

Poopnini's diarrheal output of releases this year hasn't helped.

And yet Ben Simmons cards numbered to 25 sell for hundreds, and in certain cases, thousands of dollars. And he hasn't even played a game.

There are a few reasons why football cards sell for a fraction of what other sports do.

1. Football cards are primarily a rookie based product. The jersey cards, the patches, and the autographs are 95% rookies. When 250 new players come in every year, it's going to water down the hits. If you bought five boxes of 2014 football cards, no matter the brand or price point, you likely hit a Jackson Jeffcoat, Michael Sam, Shane Skov, Bishop Sankey, or Charles Sims autograph. If you hit a superstar player, you likely bought a box that cost $400+ or you got extremely lucky.

2. Football markets teams, whereas other sports market their players. I used to live near Detroit, and the Pistons would market Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, and KCP to tell everyone they're an up and coming team. The Tigers market Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera and tell you they're among the best in the sport. The Red Wings spent years marketing Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and now are pushing Larkin as the next great star. Outside of Stafford (and formerly Calvin Johnson), you don't see anything from players. All the advertisements are of the brand and the logo, not the players.

3. There's no international market for football. When you actually have a player in the NFL from another country that has a following, that player's cards sell like crazy. Jarryd Hayne cards sold for crazy prices, and his Contenders hit was a card that said "No Autograph." Moritz Boehringer cards continue to sell even though he did literally nothing. The basketball market exploded once players from China, Australia, Germany, and other countries made it to the NBA and became successful. I'd even venture a guess that China, Singapore, and Hong Kong make up 40% of the basketball market.

4. There are no leagues to develop talent for the NFL, outside of college football. A player doesn't have real time to develop after draft day. You generally get one chance, and if you don't succeed, you're cut. Contracts aren't guaranteed, so one bad game can literally end your career. There's no demotions. If you play at a college that doesn't run a traditional offense, you're already at a huge disadvantage.

[RogerGodahell]

I used to think the biggest driving force for other sports cards was the international buyers. It kind of made sense, it still might be but im not entirely convinced that's really the case. I know some do but do a lot of people in other countries really collect sports cards like people from the U.S.? Once in a while you may get an offer for a card from someone in another country but how often does that really happen? I don't know why football cards aren't worth as much, they may be worth more eventually in comparison. I find it hard to believe people paying 10's of $1000's for Connor McDavid, Jordan's and LeBron's are all international buyers outside of the U.S. and Canada. I think there's more to it then that. Im sure it's international buyers to an extent but i don't think it's as big a factor as everyone thinks it is. But i may be way off too.

[moose]

this is why WWE cards are the most stable investment of them all! Undertaker is 52 and headlining Wrestlemania on Sunday! That's longevity none of the other sports can touch.

[DalliLlama11]

I used to think the biggest driving force for other sports cards was the international buyers. It kind of made sense, it still might be but im not entirely convinced that's really the case. I know some do but do a lot of people in other countries really collect sports cards like people from the U.S.? Once in a while you may get an offer for a card from someone in another country but how often does that really happen? I don't know why football cards aren't worth as much, they may be worth more eventually in comparison. I find it hard to believe people paying 10's of $1000's for Connor McDavid, Jordan's and LeBron's are all international buyers outside of the U.S. and Canada. I think there's more to it then that. Im sure it's international buyers to an extent but i don't think it's as big a factor as everyone thinks it is. But i may be way off too.

Its not just buying though. In Basketball, when NT and Immaculate all come out theres a ton of cards listed a day early or so. Its because overseas they are busting those cases. When you want to buy NBA cards vs NFL there are significantly more cards in the NBA from outside the country. The same with Hockey can be said with a lot of Hockey cards. They play more games overseas, theres international leagues, theres FIBA/WBCC (for the MLB) where guys are playing for their home countries. So people in Brazil may want Barbosa, Splitter, or Felicio. You don't have that in Football because 99.9% of the people are from the US already. The NBA even has Chinese New Year games and jerseys because their fan base is crazy over there. The only international market the NFL gets is London, and they get the Jaguars..

[RogerGodahell]

Ok so if it really is the international market then why aren't soccer cards worth 10x more then baseball or any other sports? Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world and it isn't even really close.

[duwal]

This. Pretty much spot on.

It's purely an international interest that dictates why Football sells for what it does right now. The lifespan of players is a very minor factor as the guys that only last a few years certainly aren't driving any markets.


Agreed, basketball is much more of a worldwide sport. Hockey cards are driven by not just the U.S. market but also Canadian and European strength

Another is that football is driven more by established stars, guys that are future hall of famers and been in the league 10+ years while NBA and NHL are driven even more by incoming young talent and young stars reaching potential. Connor McDavid in hockey since the start of the year has had 7 cards on Ebay sell for $10,000+ and about 160 cards sell for over a grand. That helps drive peoples interest in buying wax or singles as a possible investment

[DalliLlama11]

Ok so if it really is the international market then why aren't soccer cards worth 10x more then baseball or any other sports? Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world and it isn't even really close.

Its not just popularity of an international market. But Soccer cards sell for more than NFL. When World Cup Prizm came out, those cards were selling crazy high. Those cards still sell well, and NFL is clearly at the bottom of the major sports in terms of card market.

Edit: A lot of recent soccer realeases have been based on club teams as well. Soccer becomes a huge market when it is the country items.

IE: Someone may be a huge Portugal fan but hate Man U so is conflicted for a Ronaldo card recently. When his Portugal stuff is up though, it sells for crazy amounts. While that can turn away some buyers of his Portugal stuff, it bring in buyers of his Man U stuff.

[RogerGodahell]

Its not just popularity of an international market. But Soccer cards sell for more than NFL. When World Cup Prizm came out, those cards were selling crazy high. Those cards still sell well, and NFL is clearly at the bottom of the major sports in terms of card market.

Edit: A lot of recent soccer realeases have been based on club teams as well. Soccer becomes a huge market when it is the country items.

IE: Someone may be a huge Portugal fan but hate Man U so is conflicted for a Ronaldo card recently. When his Portugal stuff is up though, it sells for crazy amounts. While that can turn away some buyers of his Portugal stuff, it bring in buyers of his Man U stuff.

Are Maradona, Messi, Pele and Ronaldo cards worth as much as Namath, Manning, Brady and Dak Prescott :) ? Wasn't the recent Panini soccer craze mostly because of breakers in the U.S. pushing the stuff in group breaks?

[IronMonkey415]

Pinche tu madre cabron.

Is there nothing but BAD AND HORRIBLE NEWS ON THIS BOARD?

[IronMonkey415]

By the way I'm learning Spanish so if that was a bad word let me know so I can edit it.

[ucLAkers]

Is there nothing but BAD AND HORRIBLE NEWS ON THIS BOARD?


https://youtu.be/bdA6TZ28Qlg

[DalliLlama11]

Are Maradona, Messi, Pele and Ronaldo cards worth as much as Namath, Manning, Brady and Dak Prescott :) ? Wasn't the recent Panini soccer craze mostly because of breakers in the U.S. pushing the stuff in group breaks?

Depends. In general, yes they are more than Namath cards (maybe not the rookie). Recent Manning cards don't sell for what they used to, but his rookies obviously do. Ronaldo rookies raw consistently sell for $250 and they have no ink on them. With ink, I am sure they would be even higher. Dak hasn't sustained anything. He's been a top selling card for 7 months. Ronald, Messi, Pele etc have been selling well for YEARS. A BGS 9 for Messi rookie went for $900 and BGS 9.5 for 2.5k (you can determine if you think they are legit or not, the 9 was Probstein). And again, those are cards without any ink at all on them. Several Noir Messi autos have sold all above $500 and closer to $600-700 (non rookies unlike Dak and only autos, no patch).

Across the board these soccer guys sell better than the NFL equivalents, unless you are trying to compare Brady, Manning, Namath, Dak rookies to 10th year+ vet cards of these soccer players. Which isn't really a comparable argument. And even then, their vet autos come close to those guys rookies considering.

[moose]

By the way I'm learning Spanish so if that was a bad word let me know so I can edit it.

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/012/982/post-19715-Brent-Rambo-gif-thumbs-up-imgu-L3yP.gif

[oplum29]

By the way I'm learning Spanish so if that was a bad word let me know so I can edit it.

not only was it bad, but it was poorly written lol

[oplum29]

I honestly think, and this is just my opinion, but one of the biggest reasons for the price differences between NFL, MLB, and NBA cards has to do with the length of the sport itself.

think about it for a second...

NFL season lasts from September to 1st week in February.

NBA is October to June

MLB is April to November

the NFL's season is short, simple, and to the point, it's not dragged out. But in card terms, I think that hurts it's popularity also, on top of a greater chance for injuries in the NFL than in the NBA or MLB.

[RogerGodahell]

By the way I'm learning Spanish so if that was a bad word let me know so I can edit it.

Hmm.. coincidence i'm learning Japanese


いくつかの熟女は暑いですが、私自身の母親ではありません...鉄の猿

[k13]

But the average player, who plays just over 3.5 years, is never the player that collectors chase.



Not true. People just chase/collect Roooookies!!
Who's to say how long they last in the league.

Even if they last longer than 4 years...chances are they won't be as good in 4 years or traded or benched or injured.

Where is RG3, Vince Young, Jamarcus, etc.

You "think" you are collecting a future HOFemer but....

[k13]

Ok so if it really is the international market then why aren't soccer cards worth 10x more then baseball or any other sports? Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world and it isn't even really close.

The international market is way overrated as no one wants to ship overseas.
Plus the North America market was raised on sports cards.

Take away international market and it makes no difference in basketball/hockey.
They would still sell for more.

How many cards do you guys ship across the ocean?
Doubt it is even 10%

[Angus Con]

Are Maradona, Messi, Pele and Ronaldo cards worth as much as Namath, Manning, Brady and Dak Prescott :) ? Wasn't the recent Panini soccer craze mostly because of breakers in the U.S. pushing the stuff in group breaks?

No, they really aren't. The Panini soccer craze was dead shortly after Flawless was released in mid-2016. Every new product released since (Donruss, Select, Noir, Black Gold) have tanked very badly. Soccer prices aren't really close to NFL star prices except in a couple of rare cases. The soccer releases are based in the US where the NFL is far more popular than soccer; so, the prices follow suit with the popularity.

[Branesergen]

The international market is way overrated as no one wants to ship overseas.
Plus the North America market was raised on sports cards.

Take away international market and it makes no difference in basketball/hockey.
They would still sell for more.

How many cards do you guys ship across the ocean?
Doubt it is even 10%

I actually sell quite a few overseas and even have a couple regulars. About 99% of it is basketball too. A few go thru GPS and several have address in the US or use COMC. The fact that many already know and go thru the hoops to set up a US address shows to me that the international market is strong. Not only do I ship there occasionally but I also buy from there quite a bit. I see way more international basketball for sale than I do for baseball and football combined.

[Angus Con]

I would add a couple of other things to some of the other things already mentioned. The NFL, imo, has a higher potential for career-ending injury. Or even causing stars to retire earlier than most other sports would. It's just hard on the body and if they aren't playing, they are generally forgotten. And card value is dependent on the player playing unless they were one of the HOF guys.

Grid kind of hit on the rosters, but I think the competition is part of it too. There's so much competition for playing time on most teams that heavily prospected players (Geno Smith or EJ Manuel) get beat out by journeymen QB's. Their values plummet at the first sign of losing their job when they're young. All the hype drives their values, but once they show their ability and real potential (Manziel), the people that invested in those players are left with a lot of junky cards that used to be high value. Football is just risky for so many reasons. If you hit, you can do very well in football (definitely better than hockey; I'll never agree that hockey prices are better than football), but the odds are much much longer of hitting that player does something special in football compared to the other sports. My opinion.

[ssbledsoe]

This is all very informative and well thought out. I will give this serious consideration...

[k13]

Football died after the whole Reggie Bush/Vince Young Era.

Back then people paid basketball prices for RPA's till reality hit.

[k13]

Football is my favorite sport to watch but I want no part in buying modern cards.
You're a Niners fan...get young guys like kap/Hyde and before you know it...
Thousands of dollars in the garbage so fast.

Vintage football does alright.

Basketball is actually a terrible market too except for 1% of players and the newest hyped rookies. After a few years it goes from $3k-$5k to $30

You can get a hard signed Kobe auto for less than $200....international icon..

[49erRCCollector]

Football is my favorite sport to watch but I want no part in buying modern cards.
You're a Niners fan...get young guys like kap/Hyde and before you know it...
Thousands of dollars in the garbage so fast.

Vintage football does alright.

Basketball is actually a terrible market too except for 1% of players and the newest hyped rookies. After a few years it goes from $3k-$5k to $30

You can get a hard signed Kobe auto for less than $200....international icon..

I'm a Niners fan. No regrets on Kap spending. Got a SB appearance out of it. Exciting 3 years. And I don't buy for investment, there are better investments to make.

[mnvikingstwins]

this is why WWE cards are the most stable investment of them all! Undertaker is 52 and headlining Wrestlemania on Sunday! That's longevity none of the other sports can touch.

And he's getting his first Topps auto in like 15 years in 2017 products

[k13]

I'm a Niners fan. No regrets on Kap spending. Got a SB appearance out of it. Exciting 3 years. And I don't buy for investment, there are better investments to make.

Not even about investing.
More like missing out on a 95% sale.

No one likes buying ANYTHING then seeing it for that much cheaper in such a short time.

[BirdLaw]

I think there a couple of more subtle factors:

- Roster sizes. Because there are so many different positions, there are a lot of different players who could be classified as "stars" and virtually all of them will be less valuable than any QB who starts, and that causes money to be more spread out. When people talk about players like, say, Matt Forte being undervalued, the reason why they're so cheap is because they're actually much further down in the pecking order than people realize. If a guy like Matt Forte is the 50th most desired active player in the hobby, compare that to the #50 player in the NBA - that guy would never be thought of as a superstar by anyone, and certainly not on the level of someone like Forte.

- One advantage that baseball in particular has is that there are several different tiers of players that more or less have their own separate products when it comes to autographs and higher valued cards. Prospects will only have cards in the Bowman lines while veterans and HOFers will only have major hits in the Topps lines. This limits the print runs for both of them and raises everyone's overall value.

Compare that to football and basketball, where every product will have all of the big rookies. This is actually especially evident in basketball - despite autos from certain brands going through the roof, the lower end brand autographs from top rookies especially HOFers will actually sell for less than their football counterparts.

[cowboyzqna]

Tom Brady said Hello.


I think there are some football cards that "have" to go up in value after 20 years... see hof status players that habe $30 auto Rc ink. (Shaun Alexander Seahawks contenders autos come to mind)


Football is still fun to collect to me. Wish national treasures wasn't a dumpster fire but other than that I am content. (I loved the first 3 or 4 years of NT)

[twenty4seven]

Let me offer a quasi-differing sentiment:

Sports cards have gone the way of the investor rather than the average collector. A wide majority of the money being spent on cards is in the initial release of any given product. Investors are gambling money to hit a "boom" card, and in FB these cards are needles in a haystack. In the NBA there is a MUCH greater chance of hitting a big card than the NFL. The checklists are smaller.

In card collecting: money chases money. Certain products get inflated based upon where the money is initially spent and not the aftermarket value of everything else in it's wake. The NFL has fewer polarizing stars in the vast pool of available players otherwise.

Certainly it's an odd anomaly: If we look at what Peyton Mannings auto cards sell for vs. Ben Simmons, it's indicative of a weird anomaly where prognostication trumps accomplishment. In no sane world should a Peyton auto sell for less than a Simmons. Two different sports but wildly varying investment trends.

The card collecting world has certainly changed. It has become less of a true hobby of collecting and more of a profit venture. Sure, there has always been the idea that what we are collecting is important in monetary value, but the true nature of collecting seems to be a much smaller part of the hobby now.

The true and indisputable truth is that collecting is even more exciting than it was in the past regardless of who is spending the big money in the hobby. The cards and content are getting better with variety and much more affordable as such on the secondary market.

I would be a fool to complain.

[unitasfan]

Ultimately I don't care...I Love FOOTBALL! Besides I have a 401k for investing ....

[jlzinck]

Poopnini's diarrheal output of releases this year hasn't helped.

You should really seek professional help.:coffee:

[hairysasquatch]

You should really seek professional help.:coffee:

Not sure why you think so. I speak truth to power.

[03supto]

OP I really hope you're not complaining because 90 percent of our collections would be wiped out and/or we'd have to overpay just to be competitive. Basketball is downright unaffordable because you have international black roses and not just one or two more; think 20-30.....

Enjoy it and your wallet....

[03supto]

Football died after the whole Reggie Bush/Vince Young Era.

Back then people paid basketball prices for RPA's till reality hit.

Reality that all of the premier rookies are eventually busts you may have 1 or 2 exceptions every OTHER year...the go to is wait on draft classes three years maybe two and you'll pick up cards for a 50%-350% discount...90 percent of the time. ESPECIALLY in year 4

[dcallow]

Reality that all of the premier rookies are eventually busts you may have 1 or 2 exceptions every OTHER year...the go to is wait on draft classes three years maybe two and you'll pick up cards for a 50%-350% discount...90 percent of the time. ESPECIALLY in year 4

Im curious, have you found that Mariota RPA values have been cut in half since his draft year? I have definitely found that with Winston, but not going to complain getting an 2015 NT Booklet Auto for $120... :)

[duwal]

Hmm.. coincidence i'm learning Japanese


いくつかの熟女は暑いですが、私自身の母親ではありません...鉄の猿


Hmm.. coincidence I'm learning Klingon

Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam

[pgisback]

Football just has too much product, it would not be feasible to carry prices that other sports have. You can easily spend the money on picking up 10 high end Derek Carrs that you would on 1 high end basketball. But the difference is there are over 860 derek carr rookie autos alone in 2014 compared with the 80-300 in other sports that are usually produced for star rookies.

If other sports produced as much as football, prices would gradually lower for high end in the future, if football reduced it's product, prices would increase.

[Grid]

to sum up this thread, ultimately the average length of a NFL players has next to nothing to due with their card values LOL

[Morgoth]

to sum up this thread, ultimately the average length of a NFL players has next to nothing to due with their card values LOL

Yes it does if a good to great player get's injured and shortens his career that affects the value. I believe injuries is the main reason people have quit investing so much into NFL rookies. The NFL is the only sport where getting hurt is just a matter of time for all but QB's and even they can get catastrophically hurt.

[RogerGodahell]

If the international market was as big as people believe it is. Then those soccer players rookie cards i mentioned earlier should be worth $50,000, $100,000..they should be worth crazy money compared to Baseball, Basketball or Football. But they aren't, because Americans don't really care about soccer. There's 3.5 Billion soccer fans world wide..there's 400 million for Football, 400M Basketball fans and 500M Baseball fans. Soccer cards should be worth way more then any American sports card if the hobby was as big overseas.

http://sportstardom.com/most-watched-sports-in-the-world/

[DalliLlama11]

If the international market was as big as people believe it is. Then those soccer players rookie cards i mentioned earlier should be worth $50,000, $100,000..they should be worth crazy money compared to Baseball, Basketball or Football. But they aren't, because Americans don't really care about soccer. There's 3.5 Billion soccer fans world wide..there's 400 million for Football, 400M Basketball fans and 500M Baseball fans. Soccer cards should be worth way more then any American sports card if the hobby was as big overseas.

Top 10 Most Watched Sports In The World - 2017 | Sport Stardom: All Things Sports (http://sportstardom.com/most-watched-sports-in-the-world/)

You are using terrible information to base your argument. Soccer has more viewers, therefore it should be collected more? You realize soccer is very popular due to its cheap nature right? A lot of people that "Watch" soccer in countries like Africa etc can't afford to spend "throwaway" money on cards. So saying, a lot of people watch, means a lot collect isn't true. I watched Football, Soccer, and Basketball for 10+ years before I collected (3 years ago) and I still don't even collect soccer. I'm one of that 3.5 billion people that watches, but I'm not collecting them. So how does that really equate to the hobby itself? It's popular? Sure, but that doesn't mean its collectable in that same sense of popularity. Football is primarily American based, while we complain constantly, our financial situation is a lot better than all of the additional third world countries that support soccer and baseball. Most of them can't afford to dispose of money on cardboard.

[BirdLaw]

You are using terrible information to base your argument. Soccer has more viewers, therefore it should be collected more? You realize soccer is very popular due to its cheap nature right? A lot of people that "Watch" soccer in countries like Africa etc can't afford to spend "throwaway" money on cards. So saying, a lot of people watch, means a lot collect isn't true. I watched Football, Soccer, and Basketball for 10+ years before I collected (3 years ago) and I still don't even collect soccer. I'm one of that 3.5 billion people that watches, but I'm not collecting them. So how does that really equate to the hobby itself? It's popular? Sure, but that doesn't mean its collectable in that same sense of popularity. Football is primarily American based, while we complain constantly, our financial situation is a lot better than all of the additional third world countries that support soccer and baseball. Most of them can't afford to dispose of money on cardboard.

That's true to an extent, but there's still the matter of the entire European market as well as a substantial following in East Asia. That should still be propelling the soccer market beyond any other sport IMO.

[RogerGodahell]

You are using terrible information to base your argument. Soccer has more viewers, therefore it should be collected more? You realize soccer is very popular due to its cheap nature right? A lot of people that "Watch" soccer in countries like Africa etc can't afford to spend "throwaway" money on cards. So saying, a lot of people watch, means a lot collect isn't true. I watched Football, Soccer, and Basketball for 10+ years before I collected (3 years ago) and I still don't even collect soccer. I'm one of that 3.5 billion people that watches, but I'm not collecting them. So how does that really equate to the hobby itself? It's popular? Sure, but that doesn't mean its collectable in that same sense of popularity. Football is primarily American based, while we complain constantly, our financial situation is a lot better than all of the additional third world countries that support soccer and baseball. Most of them can't afford to dispose of money on cardboard.

Seems like your kind of agreeing with me.

[CANDANEDO]

You are using terrible information to base your argument. Soccer has more viewers, therefore it should be collected more? You realize soccer is very popular due to its cheap nature right? A lot of people that "Watch" soccer in countries like Africa etc can't afford to spend "throwaway" money on cards. So saying, a lot of people watch, means a lot collect isn't true. I watched Football, Soccer, and Basketball for 10+ years before I collected (3 years ago) and I still don't even collect soccer. I'm one of that 3.5 billion people that watches, but I'm not collecting them. So how does that really equate to the hobby itself? It's popular? Sure, but that doesn't mean its collectable in that same sense of popularity. Football is primarily American based, while we complain constantly, our financial situation is a lot better than all of the additional third world countries that support soccer and baseball. Most of them can't afford to dispose of money on cardboard.

I agree with you DalliLlama11, adding to the money issue, collecting sports trading cards in the usa is 90+years hobby, in most in the countries of the world this is something new, so the soccer cards are in it´s infancy, it have to generate fans base, let´s see in 10+ years how it go.

[altaeria]

Since basketball has a big fanbase in China, it kinda makes sense that NBA card values specifically would get inflated due to those collectors. The "disposable income" of citizens in China is a relatively recent phenomenon (a couple decades or so) and they are actively learning how to spend their money on frivolous stuff, not unlike post-baby-boom Americans.

[itsjustcardboar]

that's why I don't understand why people are breaking nt football at these prices. If you just do an ebay sales search on 2016 national treasures, and see the football sales, the prices are so low. You can end up hitting a carson wentz true rpa /99, a NFL shield auto of a mediocre player or a low numbered rpa of a top tier rc and still lose money at 700+ per box.

I personally broke around 5 cases of nt football last year, and did really well. Winston rpa /5, brady 1/1 plate auto, mariota rpa, etc. Before nt came out, I calculated how i did, buying boxes at 450 a box, and i still lost around 3k. i kept a lot of the bigger cards, but at 700 a box, its tough to swallow. i stayed away from it this year, but I am happy for the guys that have done well. i do think that guys will stop going to the well and buying it after the ebay sales end this week. Right now, there are over 8000 ebay listings for 2016 natioanl treasures on auction, so there will be some major dilution of sales coming up this week.

If any of you guys want to get into a big name rpa, this is the week to do it. This might be the only week in its product lifetime that you will have 8-15 true rpas of the each guy running as an auction. Carson Wentz has 8 running live, zeke has over 10, dak has 4...

As a comparison, none of Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota are on as auction.

[Grid]

Not true. People just chase/collect Roooookies!!
Who's to say how long they last in the league.

Even if they last longer than 4 years...chances are they won't be as good in 4 years or traded or benched or injured.

Where is RG3, Vince Young, Jamarcus, etc.

You "think" you are collecting a future HOFemer but....


wrong, people chase top rated rookies. not just any rookie card. top prospects, even those that might seem like a bust, will usually last longer than 3.5 years.

but prospecting can bite anyone in any sport. it's not the reason why NFL doesn't sell as well as the international brands

[Grid]

Yes it does if a good to great player get's injured and shortens his career that affects the value. I believe injuries is the main reason people have quit investing so much into NFL rookies. The NFL is the only sport where getting hurt is just a matter of time for all but QB's and even they can get catastrophically hurt.

You can't make a statement like "ultimately" when referring to something that might contribute.... Ultimately infers the reason why. In this case Ultimately the reason why NFL sells for less is due to its lack of International Appeal.