Before he made his choice, there were a lot of questions about whether Kyler Murray rookie cards would be found in the football listings or baseball. While some young athletes dream of having the ability to have professional talent in one sport, Murray was a top prospect in both.
Having made his choice, he’s now one of the NFL’s most promising young players and a favorite among football card collectors.
The Murray Story
From the very first moment Kyler Cole Murray picked up a ball he was a phenom.
As a high school senior at Allen High School in Allen, Texas, he was named the Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year and finished his high school career with an incredible 42-0 record as a starting quarterback.
The two-sport star want to play both college football and baseball at Oklahoma, winning the most prestigious college football award in all of the land, the Heisman trophy, in 2018 as well as garnering innumerable other awards and accolades.
As much as we all admire two sport greats such as Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and even Brian Jordan, Murray was the only player to ever be drafted in the first round in Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
Murray chose to take his talents to the gridiron professionally when he was selected first overall by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL draft. He didn’t miss a beat in his rookie season as he started all 16 games threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 20 touchdowns and added another 500 plus yards on the ground. His somewhat stocky, elusive and athletic frame allows him to extend plays in the air and offer a major threat on the ground. When the dust settled on said rookie campaign, he continued to add to his sports hardware collection, picking up the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
With the addition of quite possibly the best wide receiver in all of football, Deandre Hopkins, expectations are sky high in Arizona. It didn’t take long to see the possibilities as Murray jumped right back in uniform and on an NFL field and pulled off an upset over the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season.
During the pandemic, as with many players in many sports, his cards saw a significant increase and if this season plays out as Murray and Cardinals fans plan, there will no doubt be more price increases for his cardboard in the very near future.
Looking to buy some Kyler Murray rookie cards? Here are a few options for every budget.
Rookie of the Year Tier
1. 2019 Panini Contenders #101A Kyler Murray Auto RC
Since the late 1990s, the Contenders brand has been an iconic rookie autograph card of so many great rookies, including a guy named Tom Brady way back in 2000. There is no doubt that this example ranks in the top tier of Kyler Murray rookie cards. It features the Contenders ticket design with an on-card autograph featuring Kyler’s looping “k” and “y” signature. As Murray continues to grow as a player, this will always be a highly desired rookie card of the budding star.
2.2019 Panini Encased Kyler Murray Hat Auto RC/50
Over the years we’ve seen more than our fair share of memorabilia and autographed cards but the Panini Encased version offers a hat memorabilia with an auto numbered to 50 and it sits on the same price tier as the Contenders Optic and other similar products.
3. Panini Contenders Optic Kyler Murray Auto RC
This is a relatively new product that combines the best of both worlds, that of the popular Contenders brand and the popular Optic brand. What we have in the paper version of the Contenders rookie is combined with the higher technology and the flash and pizzazz of the Optic rookie. The familiar design and the autograph go a long way in making this a significant Kyler Murray rookie card.
Heisman Trophy Tier
1. 2019 Panini Spectra Kyler Murray Jersey Auto RC
The Spectra brand is known for offering some flash and this product is no different. It features a memorabilia piece accompanied by a Murray sticker auto to round out the Arizona Cardinals rookie card. It flies a bit lower on the radar than the cards listed in the upper tier but it carries many of the same bells and whistles.
2. 2019 Certified Kyler Murray Freshman Fabric Auto RC /199
This card features an image of Murray dropping back, ready to launch the ball down field. It offers a commonly found sticker auto with a nice jersey patch on the majority of the cards seen. It offers a flashy, complicated, yet somewhat clean design and a product that has become very, very popular with many collectors.
3. 2019 Immaculate Collection Kyler Murray Jersey Auto RC/99
It is very difficult to put an Immaculate Collection rookie card in a Tier 2 list but here we are. This higher end product typically offers a nicemulti-colored jersey patch and an on card autograph. The high-end price tag of this product keeps this card towards the upper tier of Kyler Murray rookie cards as the Immaculate line always offers a high quality card design. However, prices are often surprisingly withini reach.
Minor League Baseball Tier
1. 2019 Panini Prizm Kyler Murray RC
This card has gone from 0 to 100, much like Murray in the open field. Once a $10 card around this time last year to a three-figure card with only up arrows in its future. It features the classic Panini silver Chrome-like design that collectors have come to know well. This is a card the average collector can afford and then see great gains as it sits in a collection as a player continues to grow throughout their career.
2. 2019 Select (Concourse Tier) Kyler Murray RC
This is another relatively lower end card that can start as a $5 or $10 purchase that can also see exponential growth. Select offers the familiar sleek Select design and it also offers many popular tiers and colors for the collector looking for such things.
3. 2019 Donruss Kyler Murray Rated Rookie RC
Yet another classic design by Donruss featuring the iconic Rated Rookie logo, a posed, helmetless Murray stands poised to throw the football down field…or take off running. This is a card that can be had for a few dollars but could see a nice jump in price as he grows as a player. Donruss is a popular lower end option for new collectors or those on a budget.
You can check out all of Kyler Murray’s 2019 rookie cards on eBay here and see the current ‘most watched’ auctions through the real-time list below.
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