By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
As someone who loves sports cards, I understand the hype and joy of being a collector in 2023. There are hyped-up prospects, big chases and products for everyone. However, the current model of the sports card industry has lost the frame of reality by overvaluing young players while undervaluing generational superstars.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, sports card collecting found its stride once more. The pandemic prompted the “sports card boom,” as adults who were reminiscing about their time as childhood collectors and even big-time investors looked at high-dollar sales. In August 2022, a Mickey Mantle card sold for a record $12.6 million.
Not every card is going to be worth millions in new era products, but with big-name rookies introduced every year along with 1-of-1 cards, it’s common to see these scarce products sell for more than $100,000 on the open market.
I’m sure die-hard sports fans would expect those high-dollar sales to be generated by Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Tom Brady, LeBron James or Michael Jordan. While that is true in some scenarios, the most common high-dollar sales are those of hyped-up prospects.
Big money sales with prospects can be the riskiest investments of all, leading to potentially life-changing sales down the line or, more commonly, big-time losses.
In 2021, longtime No. 1 prospect Wander Franco received his MLB call-up. Just days after Franco’s call-up, his First Bowman card, Franco’s first baseball card, numbered out of just five, sold for a whopping $198,000.
With the call-up and the already-juiced market, baseball card companies printed 2022 products stacked with high-money Franco rookie cards into the ground. Soon after products were released, Franco’s one-of-one rookie card was pulled and sold at a card show later in the summer for a number speculated between $100,000 and $200,000.
Prospectors lived and died by the idea that Franco would be the next generational superstar. He was seen as a safe investment with a high ceiling. But nothing is that cut and dry.
As of Monday, the 22-year-old shortstop has dealt with two injuries that derailed an entire season, and he is now caught in a scandal for dating 14-year-old girls. One week after the news broke, cards similar to the ones that sold for crazy six-digit amounts are still valued around $10,000.
The bottom line is that the “investment” aspect of sports cards is getting out of control. While Franco is the most egregious example, others can be brought up when mentioning the flaws.
Justin Fields’ rookie cards are selling for more than those of Brady. LaMelo Ball’s short-printed rookie cards are hitting James highs. The sports card industry has a direct, negative impact on the way people watch sports.
Feeding into the sports card craze and spending egregious amounts of money on unproven rookies because you have a gut feeling is taking away from watching greatness. If Trout, arguably the best player in MLB history, isn’t sniffing Franco’s sales on average, something is egregiously wrong.
There is a flaw in the sports card industry, and maybe with the recent “Franco fiasco,” cards can go back to being a hobby and not the sports economy.
