Every NFL Draft No. 1 pick’s most valuable card, and the one worth more than all the rest combined

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A byproduct of being the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft as a quarterback means that you become the new face of the football trading card hobby. At least for a little while.

The 2025 NFL Draft is looking at you, Cam Ward.

In the past few years there’s been a preview mode for someone like Ward, who’ll likely be the top selection of this year’s draft by the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. College football cards, thanks primarily to Topps’ Bowman University products and Panini Prizm Draft Picks sets, are gaining in popularity and can yield an increasingly lucrative market.

According to pricing database CardLadder, the most expensive Ward card to date — his 2024 Bowman University Chrome Superfractor one-of-one card with a gem mint 10 grade through SGC — sold for $5,185 in a Goldin auction on Nov. 14, 2024. There’s little doubt Ward’s college cards will be hot commodities leading up to the draft kicking off on Thursday. Then the market will explode once his first pack-pulled NFL rookie cards hit the market closer to fall.

Prices will soar well above the $5,000 mark for Ward’s autographed NFL rookie cards. This comes with the territory of being the No. 1 pick in the draft as a quarterback. The “as a quarterback” clarification is necessary, though, since card values for players outside quarterback typically pale in comparison to QBs. But there’s no guarantee those prices will continue to soar for long — that will depend at least in part on whether he delivers at the next level.

This pushed me down the rabbit hole to examine the most expensive card for every No. 1 pick — quarterback and every other position — in the NFL Draft since the NFL and AFL drafts were merged in 1967. The prices range from $1.7 million at No. 1 in the study down to a mere $39.99 at No. 58.

Here’s a look at the top five players with a list of all players to follow:

1. Joe Burrow — $1.7 million
2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph Platinum NFL Shield one-of-one 

This 2020 Panini National Treasures Joe Burrow Rookie Patch Auto BGS 9.5 just sold for $1,700,000 making it the most expensive #JoeBurrow card ever. Until next month. Right? Let’s see. #Beckett #beckettcollect #recordbreaker pic.twitter.com/9qqLnll9Yu

— Beckett Collectibles (@beckettcollect) October 4, 2022

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback seems like he’ll hold on to the No. 1 position on this list for a little while. For perspective, his top card, which occurred in a private sale, cost more than the rest of the other 57 No. 1 pick top cards combined. Those 57 cards add up to $1,539,412.95.

2. Terry Bradshaw — $430,500
1971 Topps #156 PSA 10 grade

Final Sale Price: $430,500

An all-time record for any Terry Bradshaw card. pic.twitter.com/9HoXQQbChc

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) October 24, 2021

Vintage cards from the NFL carry far less weight in the hobby than MLB vintage cards. So it might be a bit of a surprise to find the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback cracking through the modern cards. His overall popularity combined with the rarity of his rookie card in gem-mint condition (it has a PSA 10 population count of only three) both contribute to the sale price here.

3. Trevor Lawrence — $336,000
2021 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph Platinum NFL Shield Patch one-of-one 

Trevor Lawrence signing his National Treasures 1/1 Shield RPA 🤩 // 📷: @PaniniAmerica

We sold this card back in August for $336,000 🤑 pic.twitter.com/pVE6lEBdn8

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) February 3, 2023

Any card with an NFL shield from a jersey sells well regardless of the player. This sale in August 2022 occurred leading into Lawrence’s second season as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback. He played well in 2022, but hasn’t played up to that level since then. The same exact card sold again in March of 2023 for $264,000.

4. Peyton Manning — $125,000
1998 Skybox E-X2001 Essential Credentials Future numbered to 7

This is the prime example of how one of the NFL’s all-time best players somehow doesn’t quite translate to top sales in the sports card world. Yes, $125,000 is nothing to discard, but it’s fair to wonder why someone with so much greatness on the field and popularity off the field wouldn’t yield higher price tags for his cards and memorabilia. That said, four of Manning’s five highest card sales occurred in 2024, so that might be changing.

5. Baker Mayfield — $110,400
2018 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Auto Platinum NFL Shield one-of-one 

The October 2021 sale on this card happened with Mayfield coming off his best season under center with the Cleveland Browns. Of course his career took several turns before he found his most productive seasons in Tampa Bay starting in 2023 Despite his career renaissance, though, the value of this card failed to hold up. The exact card sold for $20,778 in a January 2024 auction.

Nos. 1-58

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(Top photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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