This NFL postseason has a Drake Maye trading card explosion written all over it. No Patrick Mahomes. No Joe Burrow. No Lamar Jackson. Plus, the price tag for one of the New England Patriots quarterback’s most notable rookie cards (his 2024 Prizm Silver in a PSA 10 grade) has increased by 260 percent since training camp.
In terms of the most expensive card for the 14 quarterbacks vying for Super Bowl supremacy, though, one player is an over-the-top winner, and it’s not even close. In fact, there are only two players in NFL history — Mahomes and Tom Brady — with more expensive cards than this person
Let’s have a little fun with this! I’m playing out this year’s NFL postseason bracket by which quarterback carries the highest card sale to date in each matchup. The highest price advances, so let’s establish those before diving into the matchups.
14. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
Top price: $10,300
2018 Panini Absolute Kaboom! Gold numbered to 10, PSA 10 grade — sold Sept. 24, 2021 via eBay
A different Darnold card (his 2018 National Treasures rookie patch autographed 1-of-1, Beckett 6.5 grade) sold in late November via Alt for $219, less than the Kaboom, which could be a sign that collectors are coming back around on him after two strong seasons. A trend that would likely accelerate with a strong postseason run.
13. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Top price: $50,000
2023 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, ungraded — Jan. 21, 2024 via private sale
Somehow, this value has increased to $73,626, according to sales database CardLadder’s current estimation formula. This is for the 27th-ranked quarterback in passer rating this season.
12. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Top price: $55,000
2009 Bowman Chrome Superfractor 1-of-1, PSA 10 grade — Feb. 13, 2022 via Fanatics Buy Now
At worst, Stafford should finish second in this year’s MVP voting as he’s battling Maye for the award. And one of his more notable rookie cards (2009 Topps Chrome PSA 10) is up nearly 90 percent since training camp. Still, his top-selling card is now only valued at $25,500 by CardLadder.
11. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Top price: $72,000
2023 Panini Absolute Kaboom! Green 1-of-1, PSA 9 — Sept. 24, 2024 via Sotheby’s
Stroud stood at the top of the hobby mountain nearly two years ago alongside Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark and Paul Skenes. Last season badly hampered Stroud’s status, though, as he didn’t offer enough to prevent collectors from moving on to the next hot young rookie quarterback (Jayden Daniels). Stroud’s top card is now valued at $56,880 by CardLadder.
10. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Top price: $97,600
2024 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, PSA 9 grade — May 31, 2025 via Goldin
You’d think the Denver Broncos passer would vault within the hobby if his top-seeded squad won Super Bowl LX. This will be his second postseason in as many years in the league, but collectors seem fickle with Nix. His 2024 Prizm Silver card in a PSA 10 is up over 50 percent in the past 30 days. His top card is up, too, valued at $133,470 by CardLadder.
9. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Top price: $122,000
2024 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, PSA 9 grade — April 26, 2025 via Goldin
A Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears quarterback screams hobby sensation. But then a dud in the playoffs might signal a quick decline for Williams among collectors, which happened from the end of last season all the way until October, when people started to believe Williams and the Bears might be onto something. Confidence is high for now, with his top card now valued at $159,560 by CardLadder.
7T. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers; Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Top price: $144,000
Love: 2020 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield rookie patch autographed 1-of-1, PSA authentic card/9 auto grade — Aug. 22, 2024 via Fanatics Premier
Hurts: 2020 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, Beckett 9.5 grade — Dec. 18, 2022 via Goldin
It almost feels like the hobby would move faster to Love than to Hurts if the Packers win the Super Bowl. This year seems far less likely that will happen than in previous postseasons, though. This card has also fallen, down to $107,550 according to CardLadder.
Meanwhile, even after winning the Super Bowl, Hurts’ hobby appeal feels nowhere near others from his 2020 draft class, like Herbert and Burrow. I’m not sure another Super Bowl would help, but it should, right? This card has also taken a hit, now valued at $121,216 by CardLadder.
6. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Top price: $164,700
2024 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield patch 1-of-1, PSA 9 grade — Nov. 1, 2025 via Goldin
Maye is the guy in the football card hobby right now. He’s one of only four quarterbacks in this study whose most expensive card is worth more now ($178,180) than when it originally sold — and for Maye, that was only a couple of months ago. The high-end markets for quarterbacks like Maye, Williams, Nix and Stroud will forever be more limited than usual because all of their most desirable rookie patch autographed cards (RPAs) come from unlicensed Topps products — showing no team names or logos — rather than licensed Panini products. Unlicensed products are typically less valuable than licensed products.
5. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Top price: $186,000
2022 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield RPA 1-of-1 (Stars and Stripes), PSA 10 card/auto — Dec. 21, 2023 via Fanatics Premier
The off-again, on-again hobby appeal of Purdy seems to be on again. One of his more notable rookie cards (2022 Panini Prizm Silver PSA 10) is up over 40 percent in the past 180 days and up more than 60 percent in the past 30 days. His top card still isn’t what it once was, though, down to $124,310 by CardLadder’s estimation.
4. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
Top price: $225,000
2005 SP Authentic Gold RPA numbered to 25, PSA 10 — Dec. 25, 2021 via Fanatics Buy Now
The last few years of on-field decline have depressed Rodgers’ card values substantially. This card has taken an eye-watering 90 percent hit in value, down to $26,090 according to CardLadder’s formula. Can some late-career playoff magic resurrect that value?
3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Top price: $288,000
2018 Panini National Treasures RPA numbered /10, PSA 10 — May 21, 2022 via Goldin
An MVP award and all the hype as one of the best quarterbacks in the league seems less pronounced than it was a year ago. Maybe overcoming his postseason demons with a Super Bowl win could launch the Bills quarterback into another hobby level, though. Still, this card isn’t worth half as much as its 2022 price, and is currently valued at $136,750.
2. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Top price: $336,000
2021 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield RPA (rookie patch auto) 1-of-1, Beckett 8 card/10 auto grade — Aug. 20, 2022 via Goldin
Once a hobby darling, that confidence was lost thanks to Lawrence’s hot-and-cold career. This card sold again in March 2023 for $264,000, and its value has fallen even further to $85,900, according to CardLadder. At this point, Lawrence needs a commanding postseason display to turn that around.
1. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles ChargersÂ
Top price: $1.8 million
2020 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield rookie patch auto 1-of-1, Beckett 8.5 card/10 auto grade — Sept. 10, 2022 via Goldin
Yes, Herbert possesses far and away the most expensive public card sale ever among this group at $1.8 million. And yes, he has exactly zero playoff wins on his résumé to date. Herbert’s top card sale price is nearly higher than the combined top sales for the other 13 quarterbacks at $1.89 million.
To put Herbert’s crazy market into even more perspective, there’s only been one publicly known sale of a three-time Super Bowl champ and two-time MVP Mahomes card higher than Herbert’s top sale. And it’s a monster at $4.3 million in a private sale in July 2021 for Mahomes’ 2017 Panini National Treasures Platinum NFL shield 1-of-1 rookie patch autographed card.
I could go on and on about how ridiculous Herbert’s card prices are, given his empty list of accolades, but his rookie cards and early career hype hit at the right time during the early pandemic sports card hobby spike. This card’s value is nowhere near the original price, but it’s still valued at $583,629 by Card Ladder. At some point, he’s going to have to deliver some big-time results to maintain this standing, though.
With that established, here’s how the postseason plays out based on the highest card sale to date:
Wild Card
AFC:
Drake Maye (Patriots vs. Justin Herbert (Chargers)
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert’s top card is about 91 percent higher than Maye’s.
Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) vs. Josh Allen (Bills)
Winner: Lawrence
Margin: Lawrence’s top card is about 14 percent higher than Allen’s.
Aaron Rodgers (Steelers) vs. C.J. Stroud (Texans)
Winner: Rodgers
Margin: Rodgers’ top card is 68 percent higher than Stroud’s.
NFC:
Caleb Williams (Bears) vs. Jordan Love (Packers)
Winner: Love
Margin: Love’s top card is about 15 percent higher than Williams’.
Jalen Hurts (Eagles) vs. Brock Purdy (49ers)
Winner: Purdy
Margin: Purdy’s top card is about 23 percent higher than Hurts’.
Bryce Young (Panthers) vs. Matthew Stafford (Rams)
Winner: Stafford
Margin: Stafford’s top card is about nine percent higher than Young’s.
Divisional Round
AFC:
Bo Nix vs. Justin Herbert
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert’s top card is about 95 percent higher than Nix’s.
Trevor Lawrence vs. Aaron Rodgers
Winner: Lawrence
Margin: Lawrence’s card is about 33 percent higher than Rodgers’.
NFC:
Sam Darnold (Seahawks) vs. Jordan Love (Packers)
Winner: Love
Margin: Love’s top card is about 93 percent higher than Darnold’s.
Matthew Stafford (Rams) vs. Brock Purdy (49ers)
Winner: Purdy
Margin: Purdy’s top card is about 70 percent higher than Stafford’s.
Conference Championship
AFC:
Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) vs. Justin Herbert (Chargers)
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert’s card is about 81 percent higher than Lawrence’s.
NFC:
Brock Purdy (49ers) vs. Jordan Love (Packers)
Winner: Purdy
Margin: Purdy’s top card is about 23 percent higher than Love’s.
Super Bowl
Brock Purdy (49ers) vs. Justin Herbert (Chargers)
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert’s top card is about 90 percent higher than Purdy’s.
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