Tom Brady Rookie Card Breaks $1.4 Million At Auction
The world of sports cards has been downright stupid over the last couple of years. Over the last 24 months there are stores across the country, including Target stores and WalMart stores, who are had to move their sports card to behind the Customer Service desk because there were fights breaking out in stores over sports cards getting put out for sale.
This isn't anywhere near what it was like when I was growing up. I started collecting cards when I was really little, by high school was normally buying dealer tables at sports cards shows to sell and trade cards. I was able to make a little bit of money, have a lot of fun, and learn a lot of lessons.
I drifted out of collecting when my kids were young. At least out of collecting sports cards. I still had my comic books, but I really trimmed down what I was collecting. Now that my kids are older, and I don't have to worry about them getting into a much stuff around the house, I'm safe to start piling up card collections again.
But the cards I used to collect are no longer obtainable for a normal guy like me. Even cards that I literally had in my collection are outside of my budget now. Which, if I really think about it, is about right for the hobby...I'm just not happy about it.
While its true that modern cards are selling for higher numbers than brand-new cards have ever sold for before, when I talk about a card from my childhood selling for a lot, the timeline actually lines up for big cards from when I was a kid. When I was doing sports card shows in high school, it was cards from the 1950s and 1960s that were generating high dollar auction sales. That means those cards were 25-45 years old at that time. So now the cards I'm thinking about, that I used to own, are also falling into that time frame.
Really, my complaint here is about a specific Tom Brady rookie card that I owned.
I grew up in Northern Michigan, and when I did sports card shows, it was around the state. So in the year 2000, when a 6th round NFL Draft Pick named Tom Brady had his first cards out, really the only people interested were Boston area fans, and Michigan fans. So I stocked up for shows. I had HUNDREDS of Tom Brady rookie cards. Plenty that were just to be sold for a couple dollars, and some that might get a big $100 price tag...only because it was autographed.
Which is where we come to the 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady rookie card. This is a card I had in my possession during this era. It's a card that I sold along the way.
I'd by lying if I told you how much I sold it for, or if I actually sold it. I may have included it in a trade for some Detroit Red Wings cards or something. I don't remember the specifics of our parting, I just remember having the card in my possession during this era. Because now I feel the guilt of not having it.
Earlier this month, a version of that same Tom Brady rookie card was up for auction through the auction house PWCC. When the time ran out on that auction, the final bid read $1.47 million.
Does that mean I would have made over $1 million on my copy of the card? Probably not. I don't know exactly what condition it was in when I had it, I don't know what it would be like 22 years later. But my guilt comes from the fact that I would have liked to have found out. But that's a mistake I have to live with.
There were some other incredible sales during this recent PWCC auction. Check out some of the massive sales here: