Best Football Trading Cards to Buy & Invest In for 2026

The best football cards to collect

There’s no single way to determine what the best football trading cards are. It all comes down to personal preference. Some collectors want cards worth dollars while others chase that nostalgia or a piece of a player’s history. Either way, we’ve identified some top vintage and modern cards that many collectors like to chase. We’ll provide more details below.

Vintage football cards to collect

There’s something we like about vintage football cards that can’t be faked: the test of time. This era stretched from the late 1940s through the early 1970s, kicked off by the 1948 Leaf and 1950 Bowman sets. Talk about surviving decades of bad storage. So, finding a clean one is rare, which makes them even more sought-after and valuable to collectors.

Vintage cards have stood the test of time and multiple market cycles, helping many become highly valuable collectibles. Moreover, these cards give you that nostalgic vibe. You know that they were printed when the players on them were still active, and that means something to most collectors.

So, what are the best football trading cards to buy? Here are the cards that stood out for us:

Johnny Unitas #138 Rookie (1957 Topps)

When looking for the most valuable football cards to buy, the 1957 Topps Johnny Unitas often comes to mind. Many collectors consider it the best vintage card. Unitas was one of the leading quarterbacks during his era, and his rookie card is scarce in the top grades.

The card is quite scarce. In fact, only eight copies have achieved a PSA 9 grade.

From our research, the highest auction sale for the 1957 Topps Johnny Unitas is $167,300. Even mid-grade copies of the card hold a high value, which tells you everything you need to know about how highly collectors demand it.

Jerry Rice #161 Rookie (1986 Topps)

If you follow the history of the NFL, you’ll agree with us that Jerry Rice is one of the best wide receivers the game has seen. As it happens, the 1986 Topps Jerry Rice is one of the most important cards in the 1980s. Finding one in perfect condition is quite difficult because it has full-bleed green borders that are prone to chipping.

The 1986 Topps Jerry Rice is quite rare. From our findings, it’s one of the most submitted cards in PSA history with over 15,000 submissions. Still, fewer than 65 copies have managed to score a perfect PSA 10 grade.

Barry Sanders #257 Rookie (1989 Topps)

Barry Sanders retired at the peak of his career and is still one of the most electric runners in NFL history. His card shows where it all started. Interestingly, his rookie card came from 1989 Score, right in the middle of what collectors call the junk wax era. During this period, manufacturers produced cards by millions.

That’s why his cards are easy to find today. A raw copy costs around $65, and a perfect PSA 10 runs about $2,000.

Dan Marino #123 Rookie (1984 Topps)

When it comes to the best passers in the NFL, Dan Marino remains one of the top names. He held the passing record for years after he retired. His card came right before the junk wax era, so it isn’t overprinted.

A raw copy of the card typically sells for $35 to $60. Meanwhile, a flawless PSA 10 copy can reach between $4,500 and over $6,000.

Modern football cards to collect

We’re now in the modern era of football cards. It actually kicked off in the late 90s to 2000s. As expected, it came with lots of additions and changes that vintage collectors never had. We noticed that card makers started inserting jerseys and other features into the cards. Players signed autographs rather than just slapping a sticker onto the cards.

Another thing we noticed with modern cards is that manufacturers started adding serial numbering to show how many copies of a specific card were produced. You’ll often see numbers like “/100” or “/25.” Vintage cards rarely have this feature, so collectors typically estimate scarcity using factors such as surviving examples, grading population reports, and historical production information rather than an official print run.

Unlike vintage cards, the value of modern football cards can fluctuate a lot. Players’ performance in the field can swing the value. Plus, prices can react to investor hype and market momentum.

We’ve picked some top modern football cards below:

2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Shield RPA #161

As far as football cards go, this remains the most expensive ever sold. It went for $4.3 million in a private deal, beating the then-previous record by over a million dollars.

There’s only one copy of the card in existence, and it has an on-card Mahomes autograph with a patch cut from an actual NFL shield logo. We find it even more interesting that it came from his rookie season when no one knew who he was.

2000 Tom Brady Rookie Ticket Autograph #144

We’d call this the gold standard of modern rookie autographs, and many collectors will agree with us. You’ll only find 100 copies of this card, and each one carries Brady’s on-card signature from his early days.

A PSA 10 copy of this card sold for just over $3.1 million in 2021. This made it the most expensive football card sold at public auction. It was unsurprising, though, because Brady had just won his 7th Super Bowl and had a resume no one can touch.

2020 Panini National Treasures Platinum Justin Herbert NFL Shield Auto #158

We think the Justin Herbert card deserves a spot as one of the best football trading cards to buy because of how fast it climbed. Herbert wasn’t even a Super Bowl champion when this card started moving big money. He was only a quarterback with talent.

The card has an on-card autograph and a multi-color game-worn NFL patch from Herbert’s rookie season. We can confirm that this card sold for $1.8 million at auction.

How we judge the best football cards

When ranking the best trading cards to collect, we often consider several factors. Only the ones that check our boxes get a recommendation. 

Verified auction sales

We pull numbers from auction sales from trusted houses, including Heritage and Lelands. Knowing what collectors paid recently for the specific card or football card sets gives us an idea of their current worth and helps us know if they’re ideal.

Current estimated market value

The all-time record sale of a card doesn’t necessarily show its current going rate. We make sure to check both to know what the card really is worth.

Historical significance

We always check the history of a card and how much it means to football fans when making our picks. Many collectors love cards tied to legendary moments, a Hall of Famer, or players who changed the game. For instance, many regard Jerry Rice as one of the best wide receivers ever. So, having the 1986 Topps Jerry Rice card means a lot to many collectors.

Artwork and design

Some cards just look much better than others, and from our experience, design can play a role in demand. We often rate clean vintage and modern cards highly.

Fanbase and popularity

How popular a football player is can play a role in how valuable the card will be. Fans are usually attached to their favorite players and will tend to purchase anything tied to them. For instance, Tom Mahomes has a large fanbase and is quite popular in the NFL, especially after three Super Bowl championships, multiple Super Bowl MVP awards, and status as one of the league’s premier quarterbacks. As a result, the 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Shield RPA was sold for a record fee of $4.3 million.

Scarcity

The more scarce a card is, the more valuable it is. We check for the print runs, population reports, and how many copies exist when selecting a card.

Reliable collectors sources

We make sure to only get information about the value of a card from reputable outlets and data. Some random sites may provide unverified reports, so we usually overlook them.

Graded population

When choosing the best football trading cards, we look at how many copies PSA, BGS, and SGC have graded at each level. This tells us how realistic it is to actually own a high-grade copy.

Sets they come from

A card’s set matters to us. If they come from flagship releases like Topps, National Treasures, or Prizm, they usually carry more weight and liquidity compared to low-print products.

Keep in mind that we update our rankings for the best football trading cards from time to time. So, keep tabs on our page for the latest details.

Which cards should you add to your football collection?

We don’t have specific recommendations for dream football card rips. It all comes down to what you want. Some collectors like keeping vintage cards while others focus on particular players or want something of high value.

Here are some categories most collectors fall into:

Conclusion – Pick the best football trading cards for your needs

As our guide shows, you have lots of options for football trading cards to buy. It now depends on you to choose the options that you prefer. If you want that nostalgic feeling, you can go for vintage cards. But if you prefer a modern vibe, there are also many options for you.

We’ve ranked many top cards you can choose from. Some of these include 1957 Topps Johnny Unitas and 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Shield RPA. Our team selected them based on our ranking criteria, including verified auction sales, scarcity, popularity, and more.

In all, there’s so much fun to be had with this hobby. To get started, tap the banners on this page to visit card ripping sites offering them.

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