Panini Blog
Panini Blog
It likely comes as no surprise that New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., the rookie who produced one of the greatest receptions in NFL history earlier this season before a rapt Sunday night NBC audience, is also receiving serious heat in the football card market. But the release last week of Panini America’s 2014 Contenders Football, annually one of the most coveted Rookie Card brands in the collecting hobby, seems to have raised Beckham’s bar higher. Much, much higher.
In recent days, various versions of Beckham’s 2014 Contenders Football Rookie Ticket RC have sold for as much as $1,300, making Beckham the undisputed head of the impressive 2014 NFL Draft Class and an absolute must-have for fans and collectors alike. But just as Beckham’s rookie campaign was about so much more than one magnificent three-fingered grab against the Dallas Cowboys in late November (Beckham finished his rookie campaign with 91 catches, 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games), the intense heat surrounding 2014 Contenders Football can be attributed to more than just one player.
A quick scan of completed eBay auction results from 2014 Contenders Football’s first week on the market reveals a bevy of first-year players generating staggering early returns, including Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles and more.
To date, two Beckham Rookie Ticket parallels have reached the $1,000 plateau — the aforementioned $1,300 sale for one of his limited-to-10 Playoff Ticket versions and $1,000 for one of his Cracked Ice versions limited to just 22. Garoppolo’s 1/1 Super Bowl Ticket parallel also eclipsed the $1,000 barrier. In the gallery below, we profile 10 of the biggest draws in Contenders’ first week on the market.
Stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for additional coverage of 2014 Contenders Football, including a complete breakdown of the set’s SPs and SSPs.
In the gallery above, we used images of the actual cards sold whenever possible; in some instances we used pre-release images of the same card.
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