I will not overreact to Jayden Daniels’ hot start. I will not overreact to Jayden Daniels’ hot start…
Maybe you’re telling yourself this if you’re a Washington Commanders fan after watching the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft play like the savior at quarterback through four weeks. Or maybe you’re running down Pennsylvania Avenue with Josh Harris, Magic Johnson and Joe Theismann in your No. 5 Commanders jersey.
As for the football card collector, the hype machine appears only in its infancy with Daniels. His autographed cards in unlicensed sets (meaning logos from professional or college teams can’t be displayed) from Leaf and Topps have sold on eBay this week anywhere between $1,100 and $1,600, via sales database website Card Ladder.
And then came Wednesday’s boom.
Daniels’ 2024 Topps Now (the company’s print-to-order product) 1/1 autograph card with the inscription “First card as a pro” sold for $35,100, a new record for a Daniels card.
This is the dilemma I face in producing my first set of QB power rankings within the football collectibles and memorabilia world.
These periodic rankings will be more like the Billboard Hot 100, meaning who’s hot right now in the hobby at quarterback — the only position that matters to many collectors. It could be Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes. Maybe Daniels or Caleb Williams. Or even Arch Manning or Shedeur Sanders. Some of this will be data driven. Some of this will be subjective. All of this will be arguable.
For this version, I’m leaving the 2024 NFL Draft class off these power rankings. That probably won’t derail the Daniels hype train with the real hobby bombs coming once the 2024 Panini Prizm set drops (Panini released the 2023 set in Jan. 2024), which will contain some of Daniels’ most coveted rookie cards (not autographs, though, with Daniels’ autographed cards appearing in Topps and Leaf products and not Panini).
With that said, let’s dive into my top 10 list:
1. Tom Brady
Brady stood as the top chase in the 2023 Bowman Draft baseball set (take that, Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes) for months with collectors salivating over his Montreal Expos cards, including a jersey match 12/50 inscription autograph reading, “IF BASEBALL DOESN’T WORK OUT, THERE’S ALWAYS FOOTBALL.” More recently, Brady autograph cards started popping out from 2023 Topps Composite and Motif football sets selling anywhere from $2,000 to $3,400. Add Brady’s increased visibility within the hobby at Fanatics Fest and Topps Rip Night earlier this summer (along with his day job in the TV booth for Fox) and the GOAT is back to being the GOAT in the hobby… for now.
2. Patrick Mahomes
If Brady hadn’t jumped feet first back into the hobby, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback would’ve easily been slotted No. 1. Anyone holding a gem mint-graded rookie, autograph or patch auto of any kind from Mahomes should routinely pull off cartwheels in their living room. It didn’t matter that he opened last season with some of his worst numbers of his career. It doesn’t matter this year that his numbers to open 2024 are even worse. Mahomes is basically the Shohei Ohtani and Lionel Messi of current athletes for football card collectors. And with Mahomes not having autographs in the last few years of NFL sets, his signed cards won’t be cheap anytime soon.
3. C.J. Stroud
This spot will seemingly be reserved for the best young prospect in the game, since Brady and Mahomes will be entrenched atop the hobby for the foreseeable future. That’s been the Houston Texans quarterback essentially since his 2023 Prizm rookie cards began circulating late last season. What’s wild about Stroud will be that his rookie patch autos (RPA) are just now coming from the recently released unlicensed 2023 Topps sets since he doesn’t sign for Panini products. My favorite has to be the Stroud/Victor Wembanyama dual auto cards from the 2024 Topps Series 2 baseball set (1/1 sold for $10,510 last month).
4. Jordan Love
The Green Bay Packers quarterback brought a scare to collectors with a Week 1 knee injury that had the potential to bring his market to a screeching halt if it forced him out for significant time. Love only missed two weeks, though, leaving the possibility of further increases still alive and well. As of now, Love’s cards are either on par or surpassing 2020 NFL Draft classmate Justin Herbert. And while NFL decision makers remain high on Herbert, Love is seemingly only scratching the surface as a legit starting quarterback playing for a historic franchise that’s a Super Bowl contender this year. The runway for Love seems much longer than for Herbert with the meandering Los Angeles Chargers.
5. Joe Burrow
Here’s the portion of the list where you’ll find top established quarterbacks fighting to take at least one of Mahomes’ future Super Bowl opportunities away. You could slot Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in any order depending on the day. For me, Burrow still stands taller for a couple of reasons. First, he’s the only quarterback other than Brady to eliminate Mahomes from the playoffs. And second, Burrow’s cards still seemingly sell higher in part because of my first point. I’m wondering, though, if the market will drop after an injury-marred 2023 season followed by a 1-3 Bengals start (even though his statistics are still very good this year).
T-6. Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson
I might as well mesh these two physical marvels together. Both possess irreplaceable skill sets. Jackson houses as many league MVP trophies as Mahomes, Montana, Kurt Warner and Steve Young. Allen annually resides among the top MVP candidates. Both headline an ever-improving 2018 NFL Draft quarterback class. Both seem on their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame if they continue on the same trajectory. But Allen and Jackson have a problem … a Mahomes problem. You’d imagine an MVP award for Allen would elevate his market because it would be his first one, and hence he’d be playing incredibly well all season and heading into the postseason. But there’s only one way to crack through the ceiling — win a Super Bowl.
8. Brock Purdy
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback probably presents the least cache on this list. But he’s also the one quarterback with arguably the best chance to win a Super Bowl. He played well enough for San Francisco to win one last year, just falling short to Kansas City. And despite the 49ers mediocre 2-2 start, I have a hard time not buying San Francisco as the favorite in the NFC to reach Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. And the general public still seems not to believe in Purdy on the field even though he ranks third this season in EPA (expected points added) per dropback behind Daniels and Allen, via TruMedia.
9. Justin Herbert
We’re in a perennial waiting mode for Herbert’s launch after years of parallel potential and letdown. The Chargers quarterback could be interchangeable with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence to a point, as both players’ cards still sell for noticeable value. At least Herbert’s individual play has remained good through injuries and franchise ineptitude. That’s unlike Lawrence, whose on-field numbers often show he’s been more blah to bad than good during his four NFL seasons. There’s no doubt Herbert’s teetering to fall off this list.
10. Anthony Richardson
A month ago, the Colts quarterback might have been No. 5 on this list given the optimism surrounding his return for Year 2 after multiple injuries his rookie season limited the 2023 No. 4 pick to just four games. Richardson was easily the biggest chase for rookie autograph cards in every 2023 set since Stroud, Bryce Young and Will Levis didn’t sign in Panini products. But combine his wildly erratic (and sometimes very exciting) play with another injury in Week 4 and how can anyone feel confident in his market? Collectors are following suit. His 2023 Panini Prizm silver rookie card with a PSA gem mint 10 grade sold for $557 on eBay on Sept. 16. The same card two weeks later (Oct. 1) only sold for $169.50.
Honorable mentions (in no particular order): Any 2024 first-round quarterback (Daniels, Williams, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix), Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields, Aaron Rodgers, Will Levis, Bryce Young two weeks ago
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
Required Reading:
(Top photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for The Match)
