After leading his team on a game-winning drive for the second week in a row and compiling his fourth 300-plus yard passing game in his first nine NFL starts, CJ Stroud put the NFL on notice.
The second overall pick in the 2023 draft, Stroud has helped turn the Houston Texans’ fortunes around and collectors are snapping up his rookie cards on a 24/7 basis.
Stroud used back-to-back weeks in the middle of his rookie season to complete 53 passes for 826 yards, six touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, two wins and two game-winning drives. The Ohio State product appears to have the makings of a long-term star.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans may have said it best.
“It’s the calm in the chaos. The moment isn’t too big for him.”
Stroud set the single-game rookie passing yardage mark with a jaw dropping 470 yards in Week 8, then followed it with a 356-yard effort. Through the first nine weeks of his career, his completion percentage stood at 62% and he had the most completions of over 25 yards of any NFL quarterback.
CJ Stroud is the MOST FUN QB to watch in the NFL right now.
The Texans rookie QB makes real life look like a video game.
Who would’ve thought the best rookie QB in NFL history would be the Ohio State product.
The Bears and Panthers have to be sick for giving up/passing on… pic.twitter.com/evTLGd9fM9
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) November 12, 2023
Stroud Rookie Card Sales
Among the first Panini brands to feature Stroud in his NFL uniform were Mosaic, Black and Gold Standard.
While Stroud’s 2023 NFL rookie cards continue to trickle out, there were a lot of his earliest issues sold during the first two months of his NFL career—over 16,000 on eBay alone, for a total of more than $778,000. And that was before Stroud and the Texans dispatched the Cincinnati Bengals in a memorable Week 9 road matchup not far from his old stomping grounds in Columbus.
Since the start of his rookie season until now, 12 Stroud cards have sold for $2,000 or more and that represented only a fraction of the 2023 NFL trading card products that will arrive on the market. The biggest so far was the Mosaic 1-1 Nebula rookie that netted $14,100 after his breakout game against Tampa Bay.
A 1/1 from Panini’s Chronicles brand graded PSA 9 soared to $3,605 while a Mosaic Gold (#10/10) sold for $2,650.
Stroud arrived as cards of current college players became reality. He appears in 2022 Bowman University Football. A 1/1 Image Variation autographed SuperFractor from that release sold for $3,599 in early October while an Orange Refractor autograph also was among the top sellers at $2,125.
Panini vs Fanatics
Stroud’s only—and earliest—NFL licensed autographed card was issued in the 2023 Rookie Premiere ‘First Look’ set featuring the draftees who were invited to the event in LA and posed for photos to be used on cards. Fanatics apparently swooped in to sign Stroud to an exclusive autograph deal going forward, although as of now the NFL and NFLPA don’t have licenses to make licensed cards. Stroud does have signed cards through Topps NOW in the form of a randomly packed a Draft Day rollout and a Tyson Beck designed card commemorating his single game passing record.
You can monitor the 100 most watched eBay auctions for CJ Stroud rookie cards via the real-time list below and see all listings sorted by soonest ending here.
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