{"id":662131,"date":"2026-01-07T21:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T21:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/662131\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T21:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T21:43:18","slug":"2026-nfl-playoffs-by-quarterback-card-values-who-comes-out-on-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/662131\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL playoffs by quarterback card values: Who comes out on top"},"content":{"rendered":"

This NFL postseason has a Drake Maye trading card explosion<\/a> 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\u2019s most notable rookie cards (his 2024 Prizm Silver in a PSA 10 grade<\/a>) has increased by 260 percent since training camp.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s not even close. In fact, there are only two players in NFL history \u2014 Mahomes and Tom Brady \u2014 with more expensive cards than this person<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s have a little fun with this! I\u2019m playing out this year\u2019s NFL postseason bracket by which quarterback carries the highest card sale to date in each matchup. The highest price advances, so let\u2019s establish those before diving into the matchups.<\/p>\n

14. Sam Darnold<\/a>, Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n

Top price: $10,300<\/p>\n

2018 Panini Absolute Kaboom! Gold numbered to 10, PSA 10 grade \u2014 sold Sept. 24, 2021 via eBay<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

13. Bryce Young<\/a>, Carolina Panthers<\/p>\n

Top price: $50,000<\/p>\n

2023 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, ungraded \u2014 Jan. 21, 2024 via private sale<\/p>\n

Somehow, this value has increased to $73,626, according to sales database CardLadder\u2019s current estimation formula<\/a>. This is for the 27th-ranked quarterback in passer rating this season.<\/p>\n

12. Matthew Stafford<\/a>, Los Angeles Rams<\/p>\n

Top price: $55,000<\/p>\n

2009 Bowman Chrome Superfractor 1-of-1, PSA 10 grade \u2014 Feb. 13, 2022 via Fanatics Buy Now<\/p>\n

At worst, Stafford should finish second in this year\u2019s MVP voting as he\u2019s battling Maye for the award. And one of his more notable rookie cards (2009 Topps Chrome PSA 10<\/a>) is up nearly 90 percent since training camp. Still, his top-selling card is now only valued at $25,500 by CardLadder.<\/p>\n

11. C.J. Stroud<\/a>, Houston Texans<\/p>\n

Top price: $72,000<\/p>\n

2023 Panini Absolute Kaboom! Green 1-of-1, PSA 9 \u2014 Sept. 24, 2024 via Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

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\u2019s status, though, as he didn\u2019t offer enough to prevent collectors from moving on to the next hot young rookie quarterback (Jayden Daniels). Stroud\u2019s top card is now valued at $56,880 by CardLadder.<\/p>\n

10. Bo Nix<\/a>, Denver Broncos<\/p>\n

Top price: $97,600<\/p>\n

2024 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, PSA 9 grade \u2014 May 31, 2025 via Goldin<\/p>\n

You\u2019d 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<\/a> is up over 50 percent in the past 30 days. His top card is up, too, valued at $133,470 by CardLadder.<\/p>\n

9. Caleb Williams<\/a>, Chicago Bears<\/p>\n

Top price: $122,000<\/p>\n

2024 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, PSA 9 grade \u2014 April 26, 2025 via Goldin<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

7T. Jordan Love<\/a>, Green Bay Packers; Jalen Hurts<\/a>, Philadelphia Eagles<\/p>\n

Top price: $144,000<\/p>\n

Love: 2020 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield rookie patch autographed 1-of-1, PSA authentic card\/9 auto grade \u2014 Aug. 22, 2024 via Fanatics Premier<\/p>\n

Hurts: 2020 Panini Prizm Black Finite 1-of-1, Beckett 9.5 grade \u2014 Dec. 18, 2022 via Goldin<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, even after winning the Super Bowl, Hurts\u2019 hobby appeal feels nowhere near others from his 2020 draft class, like Herbert and Burrow. I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

6. Drake Maye<\/a>, New England Patriots<\/p>\n

Top price: $164,700<\/p>\n

2024 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield patch 1-of-1, PSA 9 grade \u2014 Nov. 1, 2025 via Goldin<\/p>\n

Maye is the guy in the football card hobby right now. He\u2019s one of only four quarterbacks in this study whose most expensive card is worth more now ($178,180) than when it originally sold \u2014 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 \u2014 showing no team names or logos \u2014 rather than licensed Panini products. Unlicensed products are typically less valuable than licensed products.<\/p>\n

5. Brock Purdy<\/a>, San Francisco 49ers<\/p>\n

Top price: $186,000<\/p>\n

2022 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield RPA 1-of-1 (Stars and Stripes), PSA 10 card\/auto \u2014 Dec. 21, 2023 via Fanatics Premier<\/p>\n

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<\/a>) 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\u2019t what it once was, though, down to $124,310 by CardLadder\u2019s estimation.<\/p>\n

4. Aaron Rodgers<\/a>, Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n

Top price: $225,000<\/p>\n

2005 SP Authentic Gold RPA numbered to 25, PSA 10 \u2014 Dec. 25, 2021 via Fanatics Buy Now<\/p>\n

The last few years of on-field decline have depressed Rodgers\u2019 card values substantially. This card has taken an eye-watering 90 percent hit in value, down to $26,090 according to CardLadder\u2019s formula. Can some late-career playoff magic resurrect that value?<\/p>\n

3. Josh Allen<\/a>, Buffalo Bills<\/p>\n

Top price: $288,000<\/p>\n

2018 Panini National Treasures RPA numbered \/10, PSA 10\u00a0 \u2014 May 21, 2022 via Goldin<\/p>\n

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\u2019t worth half as much as its 2022 price, and is currently valued at $136,750.<\/p>\n

2. Trevor Lawrence<\/a>, Jacksonville Jaguars<\/p>\n

Top price: $336,000<\/p>\n

2021 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield RPA (rookie patch auto) 1-of-1, Beckett 8 card\/10 auto grade \u2014 Aug. 20, 2022 via Goldin<\/p>\n

Once a hobby darling, that confidence was lost thanks to Lawrence\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

1. Justin Herbert<\/a>, Los Angeles Chargers\u00a0<\/p>\n

Top price: $1.8 million<\/p>\n

2020 Panini National Treasures NFL Shield rookie patch auto 1-of-1, Beckett 8.5 card\/10 auto grade \u2014 Sept. 10, 2022 via Goldin<\/p>\n

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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9 to date. Herbert\u2019s top card sale price is nearly higher than the combined top sales for the other 13 quarterbacks at $1.89 million.<\/p>\n

To put Herbert\u2019s crazy market into even more perspective, there\u2019s only been one publicly known sale of a three-time Super Bowl champ and two-time MVP Mahomes card higher than Herbert\u2019s top sale. And it\u2019s a monster at $4.3 million in a private sale in July 2021 for Mahomes\u2019 2017 Panini National Treasures Platinum NFL shield 1-of-1 rookie patch autographed card.<\/p>\n

I could go on and on about how ridiculous Herbert\u2019s 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\u2019s value is nowhere near the original price, but it\u2019s still valued at $583,629 by Card Ladder. At some point, he\u2019s going to have to deliver some big-time results to maintain this standing, though.<\/p>\n

With that established, here\u2019s how the postseason<\/a> plays out based on the highest card sale to date:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wild Card<\/p>\n

AFC:<\/p>\n

Drake Maye (Patriots vs. Justin Herbert (Chargers)
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert\u2019s top card is about 91 percent higher than Maye\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) vs. Josh Allen (Bills)
Winner: Lawrence
Margin: Lawrence\u2019s top card is about 14 percent higher than Allen\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Aaron Rodgers (Steelers) vs. C.J. Stroud (Texans)
Winner: Rodgers
Margin: Rodgers\u2019 top card is 68 percent higher than Stroud\u2019s.<\/p>\n

NFC:<\/p>\n

Caleb Williams (Bears) vs. Jordan Love (Packers)
Winner: Love
Margin: Love\u2019s top card is about 15 percent higher than Williams\u2019.<\/p>\n

Jalen Hurts (Eagles) vs. Brock Purdy (49ers)
Winner: Purdy
Margin: Purdy\u2019s top card is about 23 percent higher than Hurts\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bryce Young (Panthers) vs. Matthew Stafford (Rams)
Winner: Stafford
Margin: Stafford\u2019s top card is about nine percent higher than Young\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Divisional Round<\/p>\n

AFC:<\/p>\n

Bo Nix vs. Justin Herbert
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert\u2019s top card is about 95 percent higher than Nix\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Trevor Lawrence vs. Aaron Rodgers
Winner: Lawrence
Margin: Lawrence\u2019s card is about 33 percent higher than Rodgers\u2019.<\/p>\n

NFC:<\/p>\n

Sam Darnold (Seahawks) vs. Jordan Love (Packers)
Winner: Love
Margin: Love\u2019s top card is about 93 percent higher than Darnold\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Matthew Stafford (Rams) vs. Brock Purdy (49ers)
Winner: Purdy
Margin: Purdy\u2019s top card is about 70 percent higher than Stafford\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Conference Championship<\/p>\n

AFC:<\/p>\n

Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) vs. Justin Herbert (Chargers)
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert\u2019s card is about 81 percent higher than Lawrence\u2019s.<\/p>\n

NFC:<\/p>\n

Brock Purdy (49ers) vs. Jordan Love (Packers)
Winner: Purdy
Margin: Purdy\u2019s top card is about 23 percent higher than Love\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Super Bowl<\/p>\n

Brock Purdy (49ers) vs. Justin Herbert (Chargers)
Winner: Herbert
Margin: Herbert\u2019s top card is about 90 percent higher than Purdy\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This NFL postseason has a Drake Maye trading card explosion written all over it. No Patrick Mahomes. No…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[7,1785,6,84],"class_list":{"0":"post-662131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-playoffs","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-memorabilia-collectibles","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-playoffs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115856002487338540","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}