The football world immediately assumed that the Denver Broncos’ chances of winning a Super Bowl were gone when Bo Nix suffered a fractured ankle in their playoff win against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round.
Coach Sean Payton thinks back-up Jarrett Stidham is ready and can win.
The hobby seems to think the same thing. Or at least collectors don’t mind dropping a buck on a Stidham rookie card or ten. Sellers who probably forgot they had them listed for sale online saw collectors swoop in. In a 48-hour window after the Broncos’ win over Buffalo, more than 2,500 Jarrett Stidham cards were sold in fixed price auctions on eBay. More than half of those cards – about 1,300 in total – sold for $1 or less.
It marked the second time the hobby scrambled to get undervalued, quarter box rookie cards of a back-up QB. Those who got it on New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough cheap and early have clearly come out on top.
The 29-year-old Stidham’s rookie cards are from the 2019 season when he was a rookie with the New England Patriots. Drafted by Bill Belichick as a possible successor to Tom Brady, Stidham instead wound up as a career backup.
With Stidham, the hobby is looking at a veteran who is stepping into a defining career moment. If he can lead the Broncos past the New England Patriots, no one will hate the opportunity to flip a few.
Of the sales that took place on eBay after Nix’s injury, only one was for $1,000 or more. That was for a 2019 Panini National Treasures #184 Nike RPA 2/3 that sold for $2,000 on Sun., Jan. 18.
The most a Stidham card has ever sold for on eBay was a 2019 Prizm Gold RC with a PSA grade of 10, population count of two. It sold for $2,200 in February 2023.
While the interest in Stidham has temporarily made him one of the hottest players in the football card market, collectors will have a hard time finding current cards. He does have some 2023 and 2024 cards, but he is not listed in any 2025 NFL sets that have been released to this date.
Payton Doesn’t Blink
By Sunday morning, head coach Sean Payton had already made one thing clear. Denver isn’t changing its expectations – only its quarterback. Stidham will start the AFC Championship Game, and Payton is unwavering in his belief that the moment will not be too big.
Payton has spent “three years watching him day in and day out that you guys don’t have access to,” he told the media during his press conference. “He will be ready to go and ready for the moment.”
The injury itself unfolded quietly, almost deceptively so. Nix was hurt on a running play late in the game, then remained on the field long enough to center the ball and help set up the game-winning field goal. Payton only realized the severity after the celebration ended.
“I kind of chest-bumped him,” Payton recalled. “I’m like, ‘You all right?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, but man, it’s hurting.’ He said it was his ankle.”
The real news came later, after Payton returned from his postgame media availability.
“They showed me the X-ray,” Payton said. “So immediately I walked down the hall. Bo was sitting there outside the locker room with his wife, his parents, his family. Obviously it was disappointing right at that moment.”
Rather than letting speculation swirl, Payton addressed the injury publicly that night — a move he said was done with the locker room in mind.
“I don’t want the team to hear from you all first or any national media first,” Payton said. “At least then the players are going to hear that from me on the podium.”
As soon as the words were out of Payton’s mouth, eBay searches for 2019 Stidham cards blew up.
It was a race between collectors and sellers, with collectors scrambling to buy one cent Stidham cards or Stidham RCs for a dollar or less before the sellers clued in and jacked up the prices on their fixed price offerings.
Why Payton Trusts Stidham
To the outside world, Stidham remains largely unknown. He has just two career starts and has spent much of his NFL life as a backup in New England, Las Vegas and now Denver. But Payton bristled at the idea that losing the starter means the Broncos’ Super Bowl hopes should be dismissed.
“Historically speaking, all bets weren’t off with Jeff Hostetler,” Payton said. “They weren’t off in Philly. When we lost Brees midseason against the Rams and Teddy Bridgewater won five in a row, all bets can be off.”
He also pointed to more recent examples.
“They weren’t off for Houston this year when Mills came in,” Payton said. “I don’t know if he lost a game.”
Payton’s confidence in Stidham didn’t start this season. It dates back years – even before Payton arrived in Denver.
“He was the target for us in the draft,” Payton said. “I know how he was coached in New England. I know exactly how McDaniels felt about him when he brought him to Vegas. And then we saw him play in real time.”
What truly separates Stidham, Payton said, is what happens when the cameras aren’t rolling.
“One of Stiddy’s great strengths is his mental aptitude and his progression and understanding plays,” Payton said. “There would be practices where I’m looking at Vance [Joseph] getting pissed off because Stiddy’s making our defense look bad. He’s very accurate. He’s got a lot to his ball.”
Like most backup quarterbacks, Stidham hasn’t received many first-team reps during the season. Payton was candid about that reality, noting that starters across the league rarely give up practice time.
“But believe it or not,” Payton said, “there’s a lot of reps when someone is running practice against our defense. They’re seeing similar coverages, similar concepts. They’ve got to force themselves to get their reps in.”
Stidham made the most of his opportunities in the preseason, completing 30 of 38 passes for 376 yards, four touchdowns and a 143.0 passer rating. More importantly, he’s now in his third year in Payton’s system — a detail that matters greatly with a championship on the line.
“The plan’s always got to be built around the type and the skill set of the players you’re playing with,” Payton said. “Are there certain things that Bo does differently than Stiddy? Absolutely. And that’s where the work begins.
“This isn’t about survival,” Payton said. “This is about preparation.”
Denver has already defied expectations all season, riding a rookie quarterback to the brink of a Super Bowl appearance. Now, with Nix sidelined, the Broncos are leaning on experience, trust and a head coach who refuses to flinch.
Hobby’s Biggest Game of the Year
Of the variables that impact the demand and value of football cards, nothing has more impact than what happens on Sunday afternoons.
The AFC championship game between the Broncos and Patriots will have more impact on the football card market than any other game this year.
Should the Broncos pull off the upset and beat the Patriots, Stidham’s cards will be in demand. There will also be speculation that he will land somewhere as a starter. Think of how popular Jimmy Garrapolo became for a two-year window after he left New England.
A Broncos win might also cool off the red hot demand for Drake Maye cards. However, a Patriots’ win will only increase the demand for Maye cards as he will have led the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance.
And how interesting is it that most of the Jarrett Stidham cards that are suddenly in high demand have him pictured in a Patriots uniform?
The bottom line is that football loves an underdog, and there is no bigger underdog than Jarrett Stidham right now.
And he has already proven that the hobby loves an underdog too.
Check out Jarrett Stidham rookie cards on eBay here.
