The Most Valuable Football Cards of All Time
Richard WeissKey Takeaways
- The most valuable football card on record is the 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Platinum NFL Shield Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1, sold for $4.3 million in a private sale in July 2021.
- The highest auction price on this list is $3,107,372 for a 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady rookie autograph graded BGS 9, sold at Lelands in June 2021.
- Two Josh Allen cards passed $1 million in 2026: $1.35 million in May and $1.7 million in August.
- We could verify nine football cards with a record sale above $850,000. All nine are quarterback cards, and eight are rookie cards.
- Topps became the exclusive NFL trading card licensee on April 1, 2026. Panini held that license from 2016 until March 31, 2026.
Table of Contents
The most valuable football card of all time is the 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Platinum NFL Shield Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1, which sold for $4.3 million in a private sale in July 2021. Second is a 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady rookie autograph graded BGS 9, sold for $3,107,372 at Lelands in June 2021.
How This List Is Ranked
This list ranks football cards by the highest publicly reported sale for each card, as of October 2026. Each card appears once, at its record price. Every price is a dated sale record with the grade and the seller named, and private sales are labeled as private sales. Nothing here is an estimate of what a card is worth today.
An earlier version of this post listed ten cards. We now list nine, because nine is the number of record sales we could confirm with at least two sources. For the other sports, see the most valuable baseball cards, the most valuable basketball cards and our overview of the most valuable sports cards.
The 9 Most Valuable Football Cards by Record Sale
| Rank | Card | Record sale | Date, grade and seller |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Platinum NFL Shield Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1 | $4.3 million | July 2021, BGS 8.5, private sale brokered by PWCC |
| 2 | 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady Rookie Autograph /100 | $3,107,372 | June 2021, BGS 9, Lelands |
| 3 | 2020 Panini National Treasures Justin Herbert Platinum NFL Shield Autograph 1/1 | $1.8 million | September 2022, BGS 8.5, sold through Goldin |
| 4 (tie) | 2020 Panini National Treasures Joe Burrow Platinum NFL Shield Autograph 1/1 | $1.7 million | September 2022, BGS 9.5, private sale |
| 4 (tie) | 2018 Panini National Treasures Josh Allen NFL Shield Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1 | $1.7 million | August 2026, PSA 8.5, private sale through Alt |
| 6 | 2025 Topps Chrome Josh Allen Gold Shield Autograph 1/1 | $1.35 million | May 2026, grade not reported, Fanatics Collect |
| 7 | 2020 Panini Prizm Justin Herbert Black Finite 1/1 | $1.1 million | September 2022, BGS 9, private sale |
| 8 | 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Holo Gold Rookie Patch Autograph /10 | $1.08 million | September 2021, BGS 9.5, PWCC |
| 9 | 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Black Rookie Patch Autograph /5 | $861,000 | January 2021, BGS 9, Goldin Auctions |
The Cards in Detail
1. 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Platinum NFL Shield Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1
This one-of-one Mahomes rookie card, graded BGS 8.5, sold for $4.3 million in a private sale brokered by PWCC Marketplace in July 2021. It carries his autograph and the NFL Shield patch from a jersey. The sale passed the $3.1 million Tom Brady record set the month before, and it is still the highest price reported for a football card. A Rookie Patch Autograph is usually shortened to RPA.
2. 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady Rookie Autograph
A copy graded BGS 9 sold for $3,107,372 at Lelands in June 2021. The Championship Ticket is the parallel of Brady's signed Contenders rookie card that is numbered to 100. The sale passed the $2.25 million paid at Lelands in April 2021 for another copy, graded BGS 8.5. Sports Collectors Daily reported the June sale as the highest price paid for a football card in a public auction at the time.
3. 2020 Panini National Treasures Justin Herbert Platinum NFL Shield Autograph 1/1
Herbert's one-of-one NFL Shield rookie card, graded BGS 8.5, sold for $1.8 million through Goldin in September 2022.
4 (tie). 2020 Panini National Treasures Joe Burrow Platinum NFL Shield Autograph 1/1
Burrow's version of the same card, graded BGS 9.5, sold for $1.7 million in a private sale in September 2022.
4 (tie). 2018 Panini National Treasures Josh Allen NFL Shield Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1
Allen's one-of-one NFL Shield rookie card, graded PSA 8.5, sold for $1.7 million in a private sale through Alt on August 6, 2026. It passed the Allen record of $1.35 million set less than three months earlier.
6. 2025 Topps Chrome Josh Allen Gold Shield Autograph 1/1
This one-of-one autograph with a game-worn gold NFL shield patch sold for $1.35 million in a Fanatics Collect Premier Auction in May 2026. It comes from 2025 Topps Chrome Football, the first product released under the Topps NFL license. It is the only Topps card on this list and the only card that is not a rookie card.
7. 2020 Panini Prizm Justin Herbert Black Finite 1/1
The Black Finite is the one-of-one parallel of Herbert's Prizm rookie card. The copy graded BGS 9 sold for $1.1 million in a private sale in September 2022, the same month as his NFL Shield card.
8. 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Holo Gold Rookie Patch Autograph /10
The Holo Gold parallel is numbered to 10. A copy graded BGS 9.5 sold for $1.08 million at PWCC in September 2021.
9. 2017 Panini National Treasures Patrick Mahomes Black Rookie Patch Autograph /5
The Black parallel is numbered to 5. A copy graded BGS 9 sold for $861,000 at Goldin Auctions in January 2021. At the time it was the highest price paid for a football card, passing a $555,988 Tom Brady rookie card sale from earlier that month.
Panini, Topps and the NFL License
Seven of the nine cards are Panini cards from 2017 to 2020. Panini held the exclusive NFL trading card license from 2016 until March 31, 2026, so National Treasures and Prizm were fully licensed NFL products when those cards were made.
Topps, which is owned by Fanatics, became the NFL's exclusive trading card licensee on April 1, 2026. Its first product under the license was 2025 Topps Chrome Football, released on April 15, 2026. The $1.35 million Josh Allen card came out of that product and sold the following month.
What Makes a Football Card Valuable
The nine cards above have a lot in common:
- Quarterbacks: Mahomes, Brady, Herbert, Burrow and Allen account for every card.
- Rookie cards: eight of the nine are rookie cards.
- Autograph and patch: eight of the nine are signed, and seven pair the autograph with a jersey patch. Five of them use the NFL Shield, football's counterpart to the Logoman card in basketball.
- Low print runs: six are one-of-one cards. The other three are numbered to 5, 10 and 100.
- Grade: eight of the nine sold in a grading company slab from BGS or PSA. BGS 9.5 is the grade Beckett calls Gem Mint.
To check your own cards, read how to find out the value of your sports cards.
How to Protect Valuable Football Cards
Condition drives price, so sleeve a card as soon as it comes out of the pack. Use a penny sleeve and a toploader, or a one-touch holder for thicker patch cards. We carry card sleeves and toploaders, and our guide on how to store and protect your sports cards covers storage.
Sources
- Patrick Mahomes rookie card sells for record $4.3 million (Sports Collectors Digest)
- The 10 most expensive football cards of all time (cllct)
- The most expensive football cards ever sold (CGC Cards)
- Tom Brady rookie card sets record at Lelands (Sports Collectors Daily)
- Brady Rookie Ticket card sells for $2.25 million (Sports Collectors Daily)
- Justin Herbert Platinum NFL Shield card sold for $1.8 million (Sports Illustrated)
- Josh Allen rookie card sets new record in private deal (Sports Illustrated)
- Josh Allen record tops the five biggest sports card sales of the week (Sports Illustrated)
- Josh Allen card sells for record $1.35 million (Sports Collectors Daily)
- Patrick Mahomes rookie card sells for $861K at auction (CBS Sports)
- List of most expensive sports cards (Wikipedia)
- Fanatics-owned Topps becomes the NFL's exclusive trading card licensee (FOX Sports)
- 2025 Topps Chrome Football checklist and release date (Checklist Insider)
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