While the football card market has been micro-focused on CJ Stroud when it comes to 2023 rookie cards, there is a lot of excitement beyond the Houston Texans quarterback.
In fact, the argument can be made that 2023 might be the best year for rookie cards in NFL history. Rookie cards, mind you. The jury is still out on how their careers will play out but there is much potential. Collectors have definitely been busy stashing some of their cards.
Stroud Leads QB Class
Stroud finished the season with the third highest passing yardage total for rookies in NFL history. Had he not missed a pair of games and a good part of another, there is little doubt that he would have broken the record set by Andrew Luck in 2012. Stroud had 4,108 yards passing, behind only Luck with 4,374 in 2012 and Justin Herbert with 4,336 in 2020.
Stroud’s 23 touchdown passes are tied for third all-time for rookies with Luck and Dak Prescott, behind only Herbert with 31 and Baker Mayfield with 27 for the Browns in 2018.
Most importantly, Stroud helped turn a team that was one game away from having the worst record in the NFL in 2022 into a playoff team in just his first season.
Stroud rookie cards have been hot. In the past 90 days, close to 38,000 Stroud singles sold on eBay for more than $2.2 million. The average daily selling price of Stroud cards was $11.61 on Sept. 16. On Jan. 4 it was $113.
The most expensive Stroud card was an ungraded 2023 Panini Mosaic Nebula 1/1 RC which went for $14,000 in a buy-it-now transaction.
On Tuesday night, however, the 1/1 Black Finite Stroud rookie was pulled by Backyard Breaks. Assuming it goes up for sale, it’ll set the record for a Stroud card, perhaps reaching six figures.
The player drafted ahead of Stroud, Bryce Young, had a much different rookie year. The Panthers ended the season by being the first team since 2008 to be shut out in back-to-back games. Although this one comes with an asterisk, they also became the first team in NFL history to not hold a lead in any game in the fourth quarter. The 1982 Colts were 0-8-1 and did not lead in the fourth, but that was in a strike-shortened, nine game season. The Panthers managed that feat in 17 games.
Both of the Panthers wins this year came on Eddie Paneiro 23-yard walk-off field goals with no time left on the clock. One of those wins came against Stroud and the Texans.
Young passed for 2,877 yards and 11 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He was sacked a franchise record 62 times.
Collectors haven’t given up on Young with over a half million dollars worth of his cards selling since the second week of October. All but one of the top seven sales have come in the last month. A 2023 Panini Instant RPS Gold RC #/10 with a PSA 8 grade for the card and a PSA 10 grade for the autograph sold for over $4,000 on Dec. 16.
It also appears that the quarterback rookie card class of 2023 will have some legs, as there are players beyond Stroud and Young that collectors should pay attention to.
Anthony Richardson of the Colts was injured early in the season and watched and learned as Gardner Minshew III came within a fourth down pass thrown behind a receiver away from making the playoffs. Richardson had been off to a promising start and will be back next year, which should eventually stir up interest in his 2023 cards.
Another rookie quarterback to watch is Aidan O’Connell of the Raiders. The rookie from Purdue replaced an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and improved throughout the season. He finished the year with 1,974 yards and 12 TDs to seven picks. He won three of his last starts for Las Vegas, and had eight touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Will Levis played in nine games for the Tennessee Titans, with his team winning three of those games but two of the losses came in overtime. Levis established himself as Ryan Tannehill’s replacement with 1,808 yards passing and eight TDs to.
Puka Nacua Surprises as Receiving Machine
For the hobby, it’s the scenario everyone likes.
Puka Nacua began the season as a little-known receiver from Brigham Young University. He was drafted by the Rams in the fifth round, 177th overall.
Nacua was certainly not driving sales of new 2023 football card products, but by the end of the season, collectors were scrambling for his cards.
In the last game of the season against San Francisco, Nacua broke the record for the most yards receiving by a rookie with 1,486 yards. It was previously held by Bill Gorman, who had 1,473 yards as a rookie in 1960. He also set a new record for most receptions by a rookie with 105, besting Jaylen Waddle’s record by one.
In his second NFL game, Nacua set the record for most receptions in a game by a rookie with 15 in a 30-23 loss to San Francisco. He also became the first rookie in NFL history to have 10 or more receptions and 100 or more yards in his first two NFL games.
The auction Nacua rookie cards on eBay over the last 90 days included more than 6,000 cards sold for over $315,000. The highest seller came Sunday when one of the five 2023 Prizm Gold Vinyl rookie autos sold for $6,500.
In Kansas City, Rashee Rice racked up 938 yards and seven touchdowns in his debut year and his cards have been steady risers. Eight of his ten highest card sales on eBay have come in the last five weeks. While nearly $200,000 worth have sold since October 7, none have yet to cross the $1,000 mark.
Lions Rookies Set Records
Maybe this is part of a Travis Kelce effect. Or it could be that offensive systems are trending toward more tight end play in the middle of the field. Either way, Detroit Lions rookie Sam LaPorta has had an historic season.
LaPorta was fourth in rookie receiving this year with 86 receptions for 889 yards. However, he broke the previous record of catches by a tight end of 81, set by Keith Jackson of the Eagles in 1988.
LaPorta also had 10 TD catches this year, tied for most among any NFL receiver with Minnesota WR Jordan Addison. He is the first rookie tight end in NFL history with 70 catches, 700 yards and eight touchdowns.
Over the last 90 days, there were over 10,000 LaPorta cards sold on eBay for a total of more than $304,000. There were two cards that sold for fixed prices of $1,000. They were a 2023 Panini Black Rookie Patch Auto 1/1 Dual patch card, and a 2023 Panini Prizm Draft Pick Gold Vinyl 1/1. Both were ungraded.
While LaPorta was Detroit’s second round pick, their first round pick, Jahmyr Gibbs, also had a big year. The Lions running back rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns. LaPorta and Gibbs set an NFL record by being the first rookie duo to have a combined 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns.
Over the last 90 days, there have been 13,823 Gibbs cards sold for a total of $401,419. His 2023 Panini Prizm Gold Vinyl Autograph RC #/5 sold is the biggest seller, moving last week for $2,050 via fixed price auction. The card was ungraded.
Packing Plenty of Promise
One NFL team has enough excellent rookies to create collector interest all by itself. In fact, they’re a big reason why the surprising Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs.
The Pack found multiple starters in the 2023 draft, including the electrifying Jayden Reed, who broke Sterling Sharpe’s rookie reception record. 23 of the top 24 sales of Reed’s cards have come since the first week of December, with over 6,000 listings sold and he’s been among the hottest commodities on the platform.
Fellow rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks appears to be a lock to be a strong contributor for years to come as do promising tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft in what is shaping up to be an exciting future with Jordan Love at quarterback.
Numerous other rookies on both sides of the ball became instant contributors for teams this season. While they’ve all got a ways to go to measure up to the ten Hall of Famers from the 1964 class, the nine from the 1957 class and the eight from 1983, collectors aren’t wrong to be grabbing a few cards from an historically productive and promising 2023 rookie roster.
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