Football

The Affordable Tom Brady Rookie Cards

Players who reach a pinnacle status will always have collectors and investors fighting over their top rookie cards. Players like Tom Brady will always be collectible in the hobby. With so many variations, pre-rookies, patch-autos and so on, there are generally several types of rookie cards. Tom Brady is set to return to football for the 2022 NFL season, and we now know he plans to stay in football after his career ends because Fox Sports has Brady coming in as a live analyst and personality.

Most collectors who are into high-end rookies know that the 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady Autograph Rookie Card #144 (limited to 100 cards) is the cream of the rookie Tom Brady crop. The card can cost well over $1 million. And then there is the 2000 SP Authentic Tom Brady Rookie Card #118 (limited to 1250 cards) which can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in pristine condition.

There are other Tom Brady cards that have sold for above $100,000 as well, but what about the “affordable” Tom Brady rookie cards?

Collectors Dashboard evaluates collectibles as an alternative asset class. The same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds is being used to buy high-end collectibles. True sports collectors and hobbyists have a passion to own certain cards or memorabilia for quite a long time. The investor class in collectibles is solely buying an asset to sell at a later date for a profit. This keeps collectors and investors in a constant battle for who can win in auctions.

Some collectors will point to high graded populations and high shadow populations that could be or will be graded. And some collectors will simply cheer that they are able to find Tom Brady cards that don’t cost more than a luxury sports car or a house.

It’s worth a look over to see some of the recent sales of some of Tom Brady’s early card releases. In this case, “affordable” is being kept to $10,000 and less. The list of recent sales is not meant to be a complete list but it is meant to demonstrate that great cards can still be purchased without having to fill out loan documentation.

The first card is the 2000 Tom Brady Bowman Chrome RC #236. The card itself is one of two Bady rookie cards released by Topps. Here are sales of it from eBay:

2000 Bowman Chrome Tom Brady Rookie Card RC #236 BGS 8.5 sold for $2,858.00 after 40 bids on May 9.

2000 Bowman Chrome #236 BGS 7.5 sold for $1,625.00 after 26 bids on May 9.

2000 Bowman Chrome #236 BGS 9 sold for $3,673.00 after 20 bids on May 9.

2000 Bowman Chrome #236 BGS 9.5 sold for $9,601.00 after 27 bids on May 9.

2000 Bowman Chrome #236 PSA 9 sold for $5,525.00 after 30 bids on May 9.

The other Topps Tom Brady Rookie Card is the 2000 Donruss Elite Tom Brady #183.

2000 Donruss Elite #183 Tom Brady BGS 9 sold for $1,675.00 after 33 bids on April 14.

2000 Donruss Elite Tom Brady #183 PSA 9 sold for $2,288.56 after 45 bids on March 27.

2000 Donruss Elite Tom Brady #183 PSA 8 sold for $1,050.00 after 45 bids on March 20.

2000 Donruss Elite Tom Brady #183 BGS 9 sold for $1,976.02 after 21 bids on February 27.

2000 Donruss Elite Tom Brady #183 BGS 9 sold for $1,900.00 after 32 bids on February 22.

Heritage Auctions currently has this 2000 Bowman Chrome #236 PSA 8 up for bid with an estimate of $3,200.00+.

IMAGE ABOVE BY HERITAGE AUCTIONS

Now you have proof you can still own some of Tom Brady’s key rookies for well under $10,000 — and some even cheaper!