5 Undervalued Football Rookie Cards We Like!

The 2024 NFL season is underway -- and it has us thinking about picking up some RCs that might be on the rise soon!

Each “Happy Hobby Sports Card Newsletter” pack has a handful of great sports card subjects, helping sports card collectors working with limited budgets – like me!

This Week’s Highlights!

🏈 5 UNDERVALUED FOOTBALL CARDS

🏈⚾🏀 SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!

🏈⚾🏀 IF PATRICK IMHOFF BECAME CEO OF FANATICS

⚾ CARD GIVEAWAY WINNER!

🏈 ”WHY WE LOVE FOOTBALL” BOOK UPDATE!

⚾🏈 CARDS THAT MAKE US HAPPY – FROM 1990!

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🏈 5 UNDERVALUED FOOTBALL ROOKIE CARDS WORTH CONSIDERING!

We often overlook some rookie cards because of a hiccup in a player’s career or because we never saw them coming in the first place. The days of “Cards That Never Were” like Warren Moon, who didn’t get a Topps rookie card for a half-decade into his professional career, are behind us. Every quarterback that gets drafted gets a card – and about 15 others get one for good measure… just in case. They help pad out Panini’s crazy set checklists, and they make it tougher to get the rookie card you want, which ostensibly makes it more valuable.

The football rookie cards below are ones I’m considering picking up for various reasons!

1. 2015 Panini Prizm Jameis Winston RC Throwing #244

Winston is on the cusp of becoming the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback, overtaking Deshaun Watson, who is dealing with bad play on the field and another civil lawsuit off the field. (This is mainly a future flip card if he gets the job and the Browns can make the playoffs.)

Winston is also a member of a relatively small group of 25 players (only 14 QBs) who won the Heisman Trophy and became the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft pick. Interestingly, before Carson Palmer accomplished that feat in 2002, there were only five QBs that did this. Since 2017, five quarterbacks have done it!

2. 2004 Topps Philip Rivers #375

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, who I’ve always enjoyed reading, posted an article in July predicting the next 10 NFL Hall of Fame classes, and he has Rivers getting inducted in his fourth year of eligibility. I like it! You can get a gem-mint 10 or a Topps Gold for about $50!

3. 2018 Panini Prizm Baker Mayfield #201

Yeah, compared to this past offseason – or two offseasons ago – I’m very late to the “undervalued” party. But even now, Baker is part of that Heisman/No. 1 Pick club, and he finally has an Offensive Coordinator that plays to his strengths.

4. 2007 Topps Adrian Peterson #301

That same ESPN article noted that A.D. / A.P. should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027, his first year of eligibility, along with Marshawn Lynch (third year of eligibility).

5. 2023 Panini Prizm Bryce Young #311

Look. I’m not saying he’s going to be great. I’m not saying he’s going to be good. But his early struggles, along with the Panthers’ futility, C.J. Stroud’s ascension and the recent depression in graded card prices, makes for cheap graded parallels ($40) for a Heisman/No. 1 pick guy.

Look through the recent years of football rookie cards and tell me who you think is undervalued!

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