Welcome to The Athletic collectibles staff’s sports card of the week! Here we feature a notable, interesting, or just plain fun sports card. With football season in full swing, let’s highlight one of the best quarterbacks of the current era.

Lamar Jackson’s 2018 Panini Select Field Level #205 card is one of the key rookies in the set, with others including Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, and Baker Mayfield. Select football cards stand out as one of Panini’s top chromium releases (shinier cards compared to standard paper releases), known for their various levels of base cards, die-cut cards, and colorful parallels.

The 2018 Select Football checklist includes 300 total base cards spread across three tiers featuring different designs, images, and degrees of rarity for each: Concourse (30 per hobby box), Premier (10 per hobby box), and Field Level (two per hobby box). 

The cards’ border design offers a look that sets itself apart from the more traditional Prizm and Donruss offerings. The featured image of Jackson captures him mid-scramble with his eyes down the field and ball secured, perfectly showcasing his dual-threat ability. The iconic “RC” logo in the top right corner marks its status as a rookie card from Jackson’s debut season in 2018.

Why it matters

Jackson’s 2018 Select Field Level card is one of his more desirable base rookie cards due to its limited print run and the set’s popularity among collectors. The fact that Select includes three different base rookie cards can make it a more enjoyable football product to open compared to other popular sets, but it can also make it more confusing. When buying these cards individually, you need to be extra careful that you’ve correctly identified the one you want.

Selected as the final pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson has become an elite dual-threat quarterback, and is arguably already a lock for the hall of fame. In his second season, the three-time All-Pro set an NFL record for the most single-season rushing yards by a quarterback and won the first of two MVP awards so far — becoming only the second player in NFL history to win the award unanimously.

The Ravens signal-caller has started the 2025 season at an elite level, racking up seven total touchdowns with zero interceptions while leading the NFL’s highest scoring offense through two games. But with a 3-5 career playoff record, a Super Bowl victory remains the biggest milestone left to cement his legacy and further boost his football card market.

PSA graded population and current market value

Jackson’s 2018 Select Field Level #205 base rookie card has only been graded by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) around 200 times. For comparison, his 2018 Optic Downtown card, one of the most popular short-print inserts of the modern era, has a PSA graded population of over 300.

The most common grade for his Select #205 base rookie card is Gem-Mint PSA 10 (total population: 108), and it currently sells on the secondary market for around $200. PSA 9 and ungraded examples are fetching around $60, but the limited print run of his Select Field Level base rookie cards generates less than a handful of eBay sales per month. According to GemRate, a platform that offers graded population reports and sales data, this card does not rank among the top 20 most PSA-graded Jackson rookie cards.

What’s interesting is that the popular Silver parallel of Jackson’s Select #205 card has been graded more than 350 times with over 200 PSA 10s — nearly double the amount of the base card — yet it sells for far (currently around $700) more despite being more plentiful.

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(Card images: eBay)