Sports Card Market Movers: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With the recent news revolving around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, acquiring Tom Brady and now Rob Gronkowski, it makes sense to take a look at the implications of these trades on the market value of Bucs Sports Cards and where we might be able to find the best values to target during the volatility.
Tom Brady is the first up and looks like his PSA 10 Rookie prices have each increased over 50% since the beginning of February including a recent spike for his 2000 Bowman Chrome card according to this chart courtesy of SportsCardInvestor.com’s Market Movers tool.
If you’re fortunate you already own a BGS 9.5-graded 2000 Playoff Contenders Autographed Rookie Card which sold recently for $67K! If you own his rookie cards already, then longer-term you probably want to hold for his inevitable Hall of Fame induction bump. If you are looking to buy, there is a good chance that Brady underperforms this season. He is a year older, playing for a new team, and let’s face it… he hasn’t looked that great in several years. His passer rating has been on a steady decline since 2016, his completion % in 2019 was his worst since 2013 and his aDOT was at a career-low. In addition, his conservative style doesn’t exactly mesh with Head Coach Bruce Arians’ “no risk it, no biscuit” mentality. Given the chances he might underperform this season, check back on his prices mid-season to see if you get a better buying opportunity.
The news of Gronk being traded to the Bucs to reunite with Tom Brady has his cards skyrocketing right now. This is definitely not a time to buy. Gronk retired after an injury-plagued career in 2019 and he looked awful in his final year. Gronk’s return has people excited but the price action on his cards is irrational exuberance based on nostalgia and a good time to sell high. Check out the Gronk Spike on this chart of his rookie cards:
Chart Courtesy of SportsCardInvestor.com’s Market Movers
Bruce Arians’ systems have never favored tight ends, and they’ve already got the younger Cameron Brate and OJ Howard competing for snaps (unless, of course, one gets traded). If Gronk was a stock, it would be time to short. In fact OJ might be a good sneaky player to buy with all eyes on Gronk. At the time of this article Howard is still with Tampa Bay, but there are reports that New England has interest in him. OJ’s 2017 National Treasures RPA (Rookie Patch Autograph) cards can currently be purchased for under $100 which makes him interesting if Brady can get him going this season.
Mike Evans – eBay Prices”:http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5575581853&toolid=10001&campid=5338680168&customid=Mike+Evans&mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D2014%2BPanini%2BContenders%2BMIKE%2BEVANS%2BCRACKED%2BICE%2Bauto%26_sacat%3D0%26LH_TitleDesc%3D0%26_sop%3D16%26rt%3Dnc
While I don’t think the Brady news helps Mike Evans since he won’t be peppering Evans with numerous desperate targets like Jameis Winston once did, it does seem like Evans prices are at reasonable levels considering what he’s accomplished in his career up to this point. I would be willing to roll the dice on a successful connection with Brady at these levels, targeting his Panini National Treasures cards in particular. Check out his 2014 Panini Contenders Cracked Ice Auotographed Rookie Card. If you can find one with a BGS grade of 9.5 or PSA 10 for around $400-500 that would be a good price based on most recent sales.
Chris Godwin – eBay Prices”:http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5575581853&toolid=10001&campid=5338680168&customid=Chris+Godwin&mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm570.l1313%26_nkw%3D2017%2Bchris%2Bgodwin%2Bautograph%2Bnational%2Btreasures%2B%252F99%26_sacat%3D0%26LH_TitleDesc%3D0%26_sop%3D16%26_osacat%3D0%26_odkw%3D2017%2Bchris%2Bgodwin%2Bautograph%2Bnational%2Btreasures
Godwin feels like the biggest winner with the recent Brady acquisition. His skill set best matches with Brady’s style. Last season he received 121 targets from Jameis which he converted into 86 receptions and over 1300 yards, eclipsing “(player-popup #mike-evans)Mike Evans”:/players/mike-evans-18287’ totals, and has a shallower aDOT fits better with Brady’s current ability. Godwin will also have a higher profile with Brady under center which is great for his name value. Currently Godwin’s 2017 National Treasures RPA cards are relatively cheap and would be a good buy on eBay around $200 based on recent sales. Here is what the specific card I’m referring to looks like.
You will notice with Panini’s National Treasures cards that several different-looking autographed cards can come out of a player in a single set. Vertical cards tend to be more sought after, as well as jersey patches with more colors (every RPA has a different patch). A patch with a logo or nike swoosh is much more valuable. There are a lot of nuances you will want to familiarize yourself with before moving forward with a buy, and pay attention to the images when scanning through eBay listings to make sure you’re getting what you want. With National Treasures cards if you can’t find a chart history on SportsCardInvestor.com check out their “Sales Lookup” tool from the menu to get a list of prices.
If you want a lower price on Godwin’s rookie card, check out the ungraded Panini Prizm Silver card, which has sold 42 times ungraded on ebay since February and has increased about 500% from $3 to $15 as demonstrated on this chart from SportsCardInvestor.com’s Market Movers tool:
Chart Courtesy of SportsCardInvestor.com’s Market Movers
Buying cheaper cards is a good (and low-risk) way to get a feel for how to use the Market Movers tool and eBay resources (such as checking the “Sold Items” box on the left side of the eBay screen to retrieve recent sales prices) to determine a card’s market value. I definitely recommend looking for graded cards over ungraded for better resale potential and price movement. Get 20% off your first payment for all subscription plans now at SportsCardInvestor by using the promo code: GRINDERS.