Hello, and welcome to the football card podcast. This is it. You made it. It's Friday, and you're listening to the fastest growing podcast in the entire world that is centered around football cards, and most importantly, football cards. I'm your host, John, aka, Pac Nicholson, and with me as always is Brett, mister stacking slabs himself.

Brett, how are you doing? At the time of recording, I'm feeling a little tired. I was up watching the national championship last night, and my three week old daughter did not want to stop celebrating after the national championship. My wife is an Indiana grad, so she's in high spirits. The baby was just I was trying to tell her.

Was like, we're actually, like, Notre Dame fans, but tonight, you can be an IU fan. She just wanted to be a Hoosier last night and party all night. So feeling a little on e right now, but the football card podcast can certainly revive those spirits. The one thing I'm monitoring today because, you know, we're not too far from Bloomington where we're recording this right now. I'm just wondering if the chaos that's happening right now in Bloomington heads north a little bit, if I'm going to have to board up my house or something because those IU kids are crazy.

I was getting seeing some shots on Kirkwood last night and just kept reflecting. I was like, man, this gotta be a fun time to be a a student at Indiana University. So so many IU fans, listen to the pods. Congratulations to you. What a remarkable season.

I think that probably the it's hard it's in the moment, but it's one of the best college football teams I've ever seen. Well deserved wild story. Yeah. It's been a doozy. Yeah.

So impressive to watch that. It is truly insane to think about that turnaround. And I was watching watched the game last night, and then when they're doing, like, the trophy presentation and the giant Indiana University twenty twenty five national champions, like, graphic. And I'm like, this looks like a video game. It looks like one of your friends are playing NCAA, and you you make the dynasty with the team that never wins the national championship.

It did not look real at all. Dude, I said the same thing to my wife when the game started and the graphics were going. And I go, this is like you just simulate Yeah. Your dynasty in in a video game, and this is where we're at. And she it was like she couldn't comprehend what I was saying, but I'm glad somebody, that the same similar thought resonates.

It just doesn't feel very real. Every part of it with, like, Miami is, like, more of a legacy football school versus sixteen and o India fifteen and o Indiana going into the game. It's like, yeah. These are things that happen in in my friends playing video games with IU, not not in real life. But they were just the best team through and through all year.

They proved it. And just to go from they were the losingiest football team in college football history to to for one coach to come in there and turn it around in two years. That is insane. Yeah. I fully can't comprehend it.

And and then for the crowd to be, like, mostly IU fans in Miami, you know, it's the but who knows? If they start if this is the start of the dynasty, that'll that'll dwindle, and maybe they'll become the most hated. It's like when the Chiefs first won that first Mahomes Super Bowl. You know? It's like every fan goes to every game because they haven't seen it before, but then they get sick of it.

So I don't know. But, yeah, congrats to all IU fans. Bloomington looks like a party right now. I definitely wanna I I don't wanna bring up a sort of subject, but wanna talk about your reaction to your team season coming to an end. But before we talk about that and getting your reaction, I was having this thought when I realized that Drake May was going to be playing Jared Stidham in the AFC championship.

I I, like, had this thought. I was like, dude, do we kinda miss the Chiefs? Do, like, do we miss the the fact that it's not Drake May versus Patrick Mahomes? No disrespect to the broncos. The broncos have had a great year.

Awesome defense and sucks that Bo Knicks is out. But I I Kevin, I had that feeling. I was like, dude, would I have rather watched Patrick Mahomes versus Drake May right now? And I I don't know. I was just wanting to throw that out there.

Yeah. A 100%. It sucks going into this game that it feels like there's no way the Patriots don't win this game, and there's no way that the Patriots aren't going to the Super Bowl. Because that just doesn't make for thrilling TV. So I don't know.

Maybe it'll be a good game. But then even I want the I I wouldn't want the Broncos to win. I don't want Jarrett Sittum in the Super Bowl. You know, I do want it to be the two best teams that deserve it and, like, to make a great Super Bowl because if Stidham pulls off the miracle just to get trounced in the Super Bowl, that wouldn't be fun. Or Stidham.

Maybe Stidham just goes off. Just win two games, and you're a, you know, Nick Foles type legend. Could happen. Did you think about the fact you you I've been thinking about this. I love the old Super Bowl matchups.

And then if it if it is New England, you have the, seahawks Super Bowl. Mhmm. New England, then you have the the maybe the worst Super Bowl ever was Patriots, Rams when it's 13 to three. Yep. Then also the seahawks are excuse me.

If the broncos were to win, they have the seahawks Super Bowl, which they got trounced. Obviously, they did not broncos did not play at the rams in the Super Bowl. But, yeah, there's a lot of we've seen this before combinations, with what could happen on the other side. Yeah. The com the combinations of it all, it's funny that you can certain combos feel right and, like, you know that they're going to happen.

I remember 2010 when the packers and bears played in the NFC championship, and the other side was the steelers jets. And I remember thinking, like, are we gonna get a bears jets Super Bowl? And just did not. It was like, that's never gonna happen. It's of course, it's gonna be packers steelers.

Like, those are the legacy teams. And yeah. So but I Broncos have that legacy, kinda. The they've got the super they've got the rings. But, yeah, man.

Take take take take me to the moment where Caleb snaps the ball and is just running backwards and looks like he's just about to get destroyed and heaves the ball into the air. And Cole Kmet just is standing there wide open and catches the ball. Like, take me to that moment, like, how you're feeling and everything that transpired after that. Unbelievable. That's all like, I collapsed onto the floor.

Like, it was jubilation. We had friends over. I mean, it was that that was unreal. That that that's what hurts or sucks the most is, like not that that play doesn't matter or will get forgotten, but it's like if they had went on to win the game, that becomes one of the more iconic NFL playoff moments in history. So for that to then get erased by throwing the interception in overtime, that stings.

The fact that, yeah, overall, it they just could have won that game is what, like, hurts them out. Like, if they would have got blown out, maybe that would have even been better. I would have been like, yeah. They're, you know, a year early. We beat the packers.

That's fine. Like, still a good season. But this one, like, does sting more than I thought because they were in it. They had their chances. But I think they're just young and inexperienced all the way from coaching to quarterbacking to everything, and the Rams have been there.

Stafford's a pro. He you know, turnovers. They didn't turn the ball over. The bears, Caleb threw three picks, couple turnovers on downs. Those are turnovers.

It was just not not a clean game from the bears, by any means. So for them to come back, force overtime, have get the stop in overtime, be driving in overtime in plus territory, you just need 15 yards. Yeah. Oh, it hurts. It just there's no way around it.

It just it hurts. I I wanna say I just wanna thank the Chicago bears for being the number one team for, just football entertainment, this year. It was, I mean, just it's amazing. Like, after Caleb made that throw, I just go, when is this going to stop? Like, this is just their it's just absolute magic.

So I know it sucks. Losing sucks, but, there's certainly a lot to be, thankful for, and I'm sure you weren't expecting a crack at the NFC championship, and you're one of Ben Johnson. So the entertainment value that the bears gave, all of us as football fans was at an all time high. So, glad I could watch them do what they did. It was just an awesome season for the Chicago bears.

Yeah. And, like, as I we have eight months now until our teams play football again, so there will be plenty of time to reflect. And I know a few months from now, I'll just be, like, more I'll be able to look back and be like, yes. That was an awesome season. But, yeah, right now, it's still a little fresh and just thinking of, like, so close.

But, yeah, again, I only have, like, four of these types of seasons to even remember. So adding another one, to the to the arsenal is is good. So young team, young coach, got it got our coach, got our quarterback. Boom. Like, future's bright.

So I'm, I'm excited for September. Yes. There'll be you'll once you're on the other side of it, you'll start getting caught up in the draft and free agency and cap room and all that fun stuff. You can join the rest of us Exactly. Or almost the rest of us very soon.

Yeah. Go get Max Crosby. Go get an extra every team is safe right now. We're just Max Crosby away from a Super Bowl. That's what Yep.

Third 30 teams are thinking. 31. Yeah. That that throw, though, to commit. Notre Dame.

Notre Dame. Come at. USC to Notre Dame on that play. How about that? Wow.

Yeah. Yeah. That was I I thought we might get a USC versus USC quarterback NFC championship with Caleb versus Darnold. I was I was thinking about that before the game. Oh, damn.

Yeah. I don't know. That was yeah. It's this is like therapy. I haven't I haven't processed it yet.

Yeah. We we could keep we could keep it rolling. I we just need to spend a little time there to get your reaction. But now that leads us to seahawks rams NFC championship. That should be a great game.

Yep. Who from a hobby perspective, I feel like Stafford is probably more collectible than Darnold so far in his crew. Like, Stafford May in the Super Bowl. That that feels fun. Like, the the old guard, the new young upstart.

Darnold is a great story, and the seahawks have been very good, and they're at home. So it very well may be them, but I don't know. I do like the Rams. I think I'm I'm probably maybe pulling for the Rams. I don't know.

I don't know. I just need to watch that game and see see where it takes me. But, I think I'm rooting for overall anyone but the Patriots. It's kinda where I'm standing. Yeah.

That's a that's a fair, take. I was just trying to find this, and I can. And I don't know if you saw this, but you talk about Sam Darnold and talk about, like, a collectible run for him where, you know, his cards were very expensive, and then he sucked. And then they went up a little bit when he went to Minnesota. And now, you know, he has a shot at going to the Super Bowl.

I can't find it. I wish I could. There's I saw an individual post on Instagram this week. He had three I think, like, two were tens and one was a nine. He had three twenty eighteen Sam Darnold gold prisms.

I saw that. Forget where. But, yeah, that all of them PSA tens too. Right? Oh, were they all PSA tens?

Maybe. Yeah. I can't find it. Damn it. Look at the name.

It's legion of boom underscore cards. Okay. We're gonna bring this up on the screen here. Unreal Seahawks collector. Shout out legion of booms.

Legion of boom underscore score cards. Titus. Here we go. We get it on the screen here. Yes.

Three PSA ten twenty eighteen Prism Gold Sam Darnolds. There we go. How about that? What a feat. Three I wonder here's the next question.

It's what's the population of this card? Oh, that's gotta be well, I have no idea. It's gonna say Yeah. It's hard to do in real time. Maybe we'll find that out.

But yeah. Yeah. I love this. I I don't know. But people are I I I'm kinda into this.

Like I know. These cards because it gives you the opportune the option. Okay? Let's just say that seahawks win, Darnold's Super Bowl MVP. I mean, you got even if you even if you just throw one out, put send it to an auction house, put it on eBay, you're gonna maximize, probably get pretty good return on that.

But then you you're still sitting you've got two in the holster. You can even play with another one in a minute and just you have one. So that's kinda fun. I would imagine if he decides to sell any of these, he's gonna do pretty well based on whatever he got them for. There's something about like, I feel like I've touched on this before.

I don't necessarily like dupes, or I don't like when people have dupes. But when you get to to three, I like it. Because it's like, you don't need two. Like, you just need the one card. But, like, once it becomes three, it becomes a whole different level of a grouping that's just pleasing to look at.

So I don't know how that works, but this is cool. Shout out him. Go get all 10. Yeah. That's what I'm gonna say.

Just go for it. You're you've got seven more. Go for it, legion of boom. That would be awesome, for any player. That yeah.

Call out to the community. If anyone has 10 gold prisms of any player any year, I wanna see that. Send a picture to the football card on Instagram. I think does it Bo Roethlisberger collection? He has of one of the Roethlisberger years gold prism, he I think he's got nine of 10.

Okay. That's sick. But I need 10. Yeah. So we gotta help him find oh, I'm looking at his page.

It looks like he's got of the 20 what is that? Twenty twenty one prism gold. I'm seeing nine big men's. Oh, that's awesome. Gotta find that tenth.

I've never seen that done. That is a you should get a you should get a a gold medal for that. You need some they Panini should be sending you something for doing that. That's where if you turn you could redeem those for a special one zero one or something would be that's a redemption program I can get behind. Now we're cooking with gas.

Yeah. Alright. Yeah. Shout out football check-in. Shout out NFL teams.

We've only got three games left. We've got conference championship weekend this weekend and then Super Bowl, and that's it. And then we're done. And then what happens to the football card pod when there's no football card football to pod about? I guess there's football cards to pod about.

May there there's there's plenty of stuff. I almost find that the conversation around football cards is the most interesting after it stops in between when it starts again. I feel like there's there's a lot of meat on the boat. So we'll we'll we'll sit there. Know?

And and what I also like about the break between the Super Bowl and the conference is that you've got the Royal Rumble is the weekend in between. So it's like if you're a wrestling fan and a football fan, it's like Christmas for a little bit. Yeah. Wow. Is it always does that timing always line up?

The ripple? Always that way. That that's some good stuff. Yeah. And maybe in the off season, that's where we get into our some of our investigative journalism.

Like, I wanna do, like, a a serial level deep dive of the Panini Gold Shine in 2013 or Tops Chrome and deciding what to number cards in the early two thousands. There's some some topics that have come up here that need further investigation. So maybe we do some interviews, get some people on the horn, and, you know, get some answers for the people. Even if you just wanna be a source and you have information, we're we're open for business on sources. We'll source all day long.

You could be anonymous source and just tell us something. Just give us a tip. I need a I need a tip to follow. Alright. Episode 31.

Episode 31 of the football card pod would not be possible, though, without our wonderful sponsors, CardLadder, the only sports card analytics software there is, CardLadder. They are the only ones. I love the CardLadder software and what it does. It makes me the best collector and creator that I possibly could be each and every day. So much data.

You know what I like doing, John? I like talking to people about how they're using CardLadder. Those little stories of those use cases gives me inspiration. I was talking to Chris and Josh, builders of said platform, and I was just getting inspired by these ideas of how they use it. And we all have our little ways.

Like, I probably spend the most most of time per week even though it's not my favorite, just digging through sales data sometimes to help give us cards to talk about on shows like this. And the insights on kaboom and downtown sales on a weekly basis. I I don't wanna know, but because I'm a CardLadder power user, I feel like I do know. And I just think it just gives me a and it tells me the reality of the situation. So shout out CardLadder for making sure we're not sharing a bunch of misinformation here on the football card podcast.

Yeah. Sometimes when I hear Josh and Chris talk about the way they use card ladders and some of the, like, search thing I need tutorials in card ladders is what I'm saying. I need, like, a quick sixty sec because I know there's probably ways I could be more efficient to even, get even more out of CardLadder than I do right now. But, because I still haven't fully locked in, like, how I can search and, like, add certain exclusions and certain things here and there. So that all that to say, there's so much to peel back within the CardLadder onion.

You know? There's plenty of things to learn. So, yeah, get on card ladder today. Episode 31. Four hall of famers wore the number 31.

Donnie Shell, Jim Taylor, Mike Mikalski, and Clarence Parker. Not a lot of household names. Not a lot of household names. I had to look up Donnie Shell, and I'm glad I did because Donnie Shell was a defensive back, a safety, well, defensive back for three years, a safety for eleven years for the Pittsburgh Steelers his entire career, won three Super Bowls four Super Bowls sorry. Four Super Bowls, three time first team all pro, and a five time pro bowler.

Football card pod, we love safeties, and this is a very successful and decorated safety. So shout out Donnie Shell. I'm sure there are some Steelers collectors out there who are happy to hear little Dee Shell get some love on the football card pod. It's 1979 tops, rookie, population four in a PSA 10, highest sale 2021 in April for $5,600. Who says people aren't buying safeties these days?

Wow. So he was a rookie in '74, but did he just not have any cards until Perhaps that's what the disclaimer is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm searching through the years. Looks like nothing. Yeah. No love for the defensive back until '79. And by then, yeah, he was a first team all pro in '79.

So he he made a name for himself and earned earned his spot on some cardboard. That was probably yeah. Back in the day when, you know, there's just one big set a year, not getting a card would probably suck if you were you know, feel like you're having a good career and you're just not in the the one set a year. So Dude, I I love the image too. Just, like, a little sideline helmet off look, just staring out at the field.

Just a this dude, every time I see a seventies card, it just it just screams seventies. It's like, the design, the colors, the the way the photography is, the way these guys look, it's just like, I'm ready for ready for a, you know, disco party in the seventies after seeing these cards and designs. Maybe it's because my dad, he's, like, a kind of a closet disco fan. Mhmm. There's some influence there.

Yeah. And no logo is visible. This could be unlicensed Mhmm. Which also goes to show just the right photo can still make for a badass card even without team logos on there. So tops, take notes, or I guess it's gonna be is Panini gonna make, like, unlicensed football cards?

Dude, I have no idea. I I mean, I know that their focus is going to be on kind of NIL recruits, college, but I I don't don't know. I hope not. I hope I hope that's not a thing. We'll see.

Nice. Then a personal 31, have to shout out Priest Holmes. That's my guy. The true underdog story his whole career. Played at Texas, hurt his knee.

Ricky Williams comes in, so he's a backup for Ricky Williams. Goes undrafted, eventually signs with the Ravens in '97 as a four string running back. Gets his shot in 98, runs for a thousand yards, but then gets hurt again. Ravens signed Jamal Lewis. Holmes is the backup yet again, but then he signs with the Chiefs and just goes off on a tear for the next three and a half years.

And his 2002 season, still the NFL record for scrimmage yards in a game. He averaged 163.4 yards from scrimmage over 14 games, which yeah. His o two season, 2,287 yards and 24 touchdowns in 14 games. For context, that's the same amount of yards and 13 more touchdowns than Bijan had this year, and Bijan had, like, a first team all pro otherworldly year. So Priest Holmes, love them.

So many touchdowns. Such a sick fantasy star and chiefs player back in the day. What about you, Brett? What 30 ones came to your mind? Priest Holmes felt like that was, like, the most appropriate selection by you ever.

I was just this is feels like a big day for you and your collection and fandom. You get a kinda enshrine priest homes a little bit. Dude, I had to go Antonio Cromarte. And Antonio Comarte, a 14 time father, first team all pro, 2006, and four time pro bowler. I will never forget Cromarte's game against the colts.

I believe it was Sunday night football where he just got three picks on Peyton. I was doing a little digging. So we'll read this. Entering week 10, head coach North Turner announced that Cromartie would make his first die start in place of Quentin Jammer, who remained inactive for two games due to a hamstring injury. I wonder if it was a hamstring injury or Quentin Jammer was just incredibly hungover.

And I pulled up the tweet from Quentin Jammer that said, true story. This is he tweeted this out last month. True story. In 2011, I played completely shit face drunk in at least eight games. There was people popping on the chargers, people having children left and right on the chargers that let's let's do a research on that chargers team.

I'm sure there'll be a lot to dig up. But jammers out, on 11/11/2007, Kermade earned his first start and recorded six solo tack tackles and set a season high with four pass deflections and set a career high with three interceptions on passes thrown by Peyton in a 21 to 23 win against the Colts. At the beginning of the second quarter, Camardi made a highlight reel one hand interception leaping in front of Reggie Wayne to pick off Manning for the third time. Camardi called that interception the best play of his short career. He is the first player to intercept Peyton Manning three times in one game during the regular season, and he earned defensive player of the week for those efforts.

So Cromartie then went on to play for the Jets who then would face the Colts in, you know, some big playoff games. And then Cromartie ended up playing with the Colts for a season, so it was a a full circle. So I got a lot of nostalgia for Antonio Cromartie, and, yeah, he is quite the legend. What's the highest selling commodity card of all time? I should've I should've looked at that before, this.

Did you find it? No? That can't be right. Does he not have cards? It looks like he unless I'm doing something wrong.

His o six finest gold refractor, his rookie card sold in a PSA ten, $230 in July. What are we what are we doing? Wow. That's a steal. What are we doing?

Card. He's kinda in practice shorts, but the jersey up top, that's a that's a cool card. How about this twenty thirteen in the jets gear? This sold last year on a PSA nine for a $120.50. I'd imagine that card would do better today.

Right? I think so, but I don't know. I also realize other people don't get as excited about, like, certain, like, flash in the pan type seasons or games as, maybe we do as This is pretty niche. Yeah. Like, but yeah.

I mean, he had 10 picks in 2007. That's awesome. And that's yeah. Good a solid career. He was a I find the irony here a little bit where you've got Antonio Cromartie who in, what season was it there was where he he led the NFL.

It might have been the season you just referenced. He led the NFL in interceptions one season, and then I'm looking at this 2013 Cromartie gold prism where he's on the jets and realizing that the Jets this they could've used him because the Jets didn't have any interceptions this year at all. That is insane. They didn't have a single pick. Yeah.

In o seven with the Chargers, he had 10 picks, first team all pro pro bowler, and then he went in 2012, thirteen, fourteen, three time pro bowler with the jets during that run. So four pro bowls, first team all pro, interception leader one year, a $100 for a gold prism. I don't know. 14 kids. You'd think out of those 14 kids, two of them would be bidding on their dad's cards.

That's what I'm saying. That's all you need. I'd be if my dad was Antonio Cromartie, I'd be buying his gold prisms all day long. Alright. Good job, 30 ones.

Not a lot, yeah, not a lot, though, out there on the 31 front. But luckily for us, we're now getting into the three and out. Are we on defense again? Offense? Let's let's let's let's let's stick with defense.

I had fun with that. Yeah. We're on d. Okay. First topic, Twenty twenty five optic football has JaMarcus Russell autographs in the product.

What are your thoughts on JaMarcus Russell autos in 2025? I think this is like, you know, there's a lot of discourse in this kind of went semi hobby, circles viral with people reposting, being like, what are we doing? And I just the last year of a license is chaos, and I like the chaos. And this is almost like a hat tip to the chaos by actually putting Jamarcus Russell autos in a product like Optic. So I am all for it.

I think it's great. I think it gives us something to talk about on the football card podcast. I I first of all, I decided to do some digging and check out. This is Jamarcus Russell's highest selling card of all time was his his his n t one of one jumbo patch, and this actually sold this time last year, January 2, for a thousand dollars. So that's something.

A thousand dollars being the highest sale where you've got if if Jamarcus Russell came a decade later, even though he would still maybe not do anything, his his lowest car would probably be, like, $25,000. So that's that's kind of crazy. But I when I'm think saw this and thinking about it, I just couldn't help but, like, draw the connection of Lane Kiffin being his coach and Lane Kiffin starting him. And he Russell was a holdout. And he was trying to be like he was trying to, like, baby him being like, you know, like, we don't need to start him right away, but they really did need to start him right away, and they threw him into the fire.

But I just find it very, very interesting where Jamarcus Russell went to LSU, and now Lane Kiffin, his coach is Mhmm. Is the coach of LSU. So it's almost gone, full circle with Jamarcus Russell, and we can talk any opportunity I can bring up Lane Kiffin on the pod, I'm going to. So, yeah, I I I love the chaos. What about you?

Yeah. Did you see that clip of Lane Kiffin with the grocery basket taking the basket home? No. I missed that. It was like his daughter filming him.

He's, like, walking into the house, and he has, like, the plastic grocery bag that you like when you're in the store, you put all your groceries in, like, the hand like, the hard plastic handbag, and then you check out and get your stuff put into paper or plastic bags. But he brought the whole, like, hard plastic bag home and just didn't couldn't understand that he did something wrong. She's like, you're not supposed to take those. He's like, what? He's just in his, like, sweatpants.

And I was like, I I like that for Lane Kiffin. Just Oh, that's the best. Jacking the plastic bag. But, yeah, Jamarcus Russell, if that's a good call, I wonder what his, you know, NT one of one ShieldAuto would have gone for, like, post draft. Like, this guy won in the college national championship, first overall pick, six six, huge.

He's supposed to be the next, you know, dominant quarterback. That's he'd probably have a 6 figure card if he was drafted in 2025. Big arm. Big arm. As far as it, like, being in the product, yeah.

I don't know. It's, I'm just like, who's the target audience? Like, who benefits from that besides Jamarcus Russell getting a check to to sign a bunch of stickers? But, also, one other tangent Wait a minute. You you you're telling me you you're not into post playing day DeMarcus Russell autographs?

No. God. Being a kid, and it's like you open up a pack of cars and you see you got an auto, and it's like, I wonder who it is. DeMarcus Russell. And then you go back and look.

It's like, well, surely he was good. Nope. So then I'm I was just thinking of other, you know, busts, and I went down. I had to look up Ryan Leaf's stats. First, I had to look up Jamarcus Russell's stats, which aren't as terrible as you might think.

Like, not good numbers, but Ryan Leaf had terrible numbers. Ryan Leaf's first, in '98 started nine games, two touchdowns, 15 interceptions. That's an insane reason. Started? Nine games.

Oh god. Nine games, two touchdowns, 15 picks. And then the next season well, then he was injured all of '99. Then in 2000, he played another nine games, 11 touchdowns, 18 interceptions. But in that '98 season, the two touchdowns, 15 interception season, his AV was negative two, and I just had never seen a negative AV pro football reference before.

So thank you, Ryan Leaf, for showing for breaking, the Pro Football reference AV chart with your '98 season. Dude, we need to do, like, a bit on the actual bust me bust meter because it gets over the years. People then group Jamarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf, and they just say, oh, they're both terrible. They're both bust. But there's variables and variations of how bad they were, and I don't think that story has been told.

And maybe we can tell it here on the football card podcast. That's an offseason special right there of just who's the biggest bust of the bust, and who's the best bust. And I don't and then but then we get into something where, like, to be a bust of the bust has to imply that you had expectations beyond being a bust. So, like, you are actually the best bust, you might be the biggest bust because being a bust means you're the worst. But if you're the best bust, then you're not a bust.

You're not living up to your bust expectations. Think about that. Yeah. I mean, is it, like, too, if there's a double negative, does it actually equal a positive in the hobby? That's another question I have.

Yeah. Yeah. If you're if you're a bust of a bust, that means you were supposed to be a bust, but you weren't a bust, which means you're actually a good player. That's right. Alright.

Gotta find some examples of someone like that. Like, who is supposed to be Brock Purdy maybe getting draft pick last overall? But then there's no expectations of being a bust. Well, they're kinda expecting probably him to not be in the a quarterback. I don't know.

We'll figure that out in the offseason. Did did did did he turn the ball over here, or did we get a side? There there's no way any yards were gained on this. Yeah. Negative five.

Tackle in the backfield. We blew up the play. Perfect. I noticed for second down, I noticed that, I was wondering about Prism because I it's just like I'm, like, looking. I'm like, is when is this gonna when is this gonna invade my feed?

You know? My my safe searches. And I just decided to go to Panini site. The first off the line twenty twenty five Prism NFL Dutch auction begins hours from when we're recording this. Wow.

And the boxes are starting at $2,500. These cards will hit eBay. Big cards will be posted on stories, and narratives will start to be created. There's no drop like a Prism drop. Hype will be ripping and roaring.

What do you do as a collector to justify purchases in the moment right after release or as release is happening? Or just say, you know what? I'm gonna show myself restraint. And I wanna know this from you because you're coming off of one of the best seasons you've ever had as a bears fan, and I would imagine you wanna commemorate, the season Yep. With some bears cards.

And I'll also say two final, and then we'll get you here. But, like, you've obviously talked about winning more Caleb cards. I think based on from a collector perspective, the the follow-up will I mean, it's not the rookie, but the follow-up is in the season that you will always remember. So there's some there's some, gravity to that, and I wanna kinda get your perspective on just your management of this release that's happening. Go for it.

Yeah. It's always hard to say. I feel like we all kinda know in our head what we'd pay. Like, what would I pay for a gold prism, like, fourth year card of or, you know, who are like, whoever's on the checklist. Like, kind of have a number there.

The Caleb stuff, I anticipate being difficult, just from he's a hype young quarterback. I feel like he's won over more fans over the last few weeks too in the hobby. He has won some believers of being talented, so I anticipate his stuff being expensive. But, like, yeah, I just don't it's so hard. Like, if a card just if his gold prism gets listed on eBay for I don't even know what that would be worth.

I'd have to, I guess, look at other recent quarterbacks, like second year gold prisms, but it's just so hard to say. And then I think for Finites, same thing. Like, alright. A Jaylen Johnson Finite pops up. Like, I know what I paid for one of them, so I'd wanna pay something like that again.

But then if it's just listed at a way higher price, kinda know it's my only chance. I don't know. I feel like I still don't have a set strategy here. Mhmm. It's just kinda like for the golds, I just don't wanna be the first to buy.

I guess that's my only kinda strategy is just kinda waiting out what does that first sale go for. Because then it brings out the others, and there so many will hit the market on the gold front. The Finites, that's always been its own kinda beast. So I don't know. Do you have anything more substantial there as advice for our listeners?

So I think, first and foremost, which this always kinda blows my mind, but you've got the first off the line, which is the push of the shimmers. And so the shimmers you'll see the shimmers all across eBay right away, and you'll see these shimmers get grabbed up because they're the first cards. And so that's just maybe one programming note is or strategy note, I guess, would be just make sure you understand what you're going after and getting. And I I've always found unless it's a black shimmer and you collect the black shimmers, like, don't go over your skis on gold shimmers out of the gate. So that's just one thing.

I dude, I'm with you. Like, I you I've been collecting this stuff right off the rip for so long that you'd I think I'd have a playbook on this now, but I don't. And maybe it's because I'm disenchanted a little bit from this final product. But I I'm a big gut guy. Like, just go with your gut.

How are you feeling? Like, does this feel like something, like, worth it? Like and you you didn't mention, like, gold vinyl too. Gold vinyl plays role too in that, like, equation. So I am I'm going to just take what comes.

I'm not going to I've done been doing this long enough where I know, like and I've done this where I've been, like, way overpaid for a gold prism. I'm not I feel like going into this year, there's some maturity that I I think I have. All bets are off, though, once these babies start populating, but I'm hoping I can show a little more restraint. But then once you get, like, three, you're like, alright. I gotta get the whole team set again.

And so then it adds this whole another level layer. But, yeah, I'm excited for them to drop. And I wish I could tell you what I'm going to do, but I'm I'm not really sure how I'm going to do this because you don't know what's gonna come your way and what comes your way and the price and all the variables usually influences the behavior. Yeah. Yeah.

I it's, yeah, it's all just kinda like, alright. I know what I've done the last few years, and like you said, it's all off of gut. And some stuff I probably overpaid for, some stuff probably got for a steal, but you just gotta figure it out. Couple yards? Yeah.

They they got a game there. They got 10 yards, so now it's third and five. Alright. We've got a third down here. We have we gotta talk Fernando Mendoza.

Mhmm. Fernando Mendoza is about to complete the college football trinity, and this is where you become the Heisman winner, national championship winner, and first pick overall. Before I go any further, there's absolutely no way that the Raiders don't draft Fernando Mendoza number one. Right? Yeah.

I think he solidified it. Like, a, that touchdown run is gonna be Iconic. Iconic playoff college football moment forever. And then did you see his postgame interview where he's like, I would die for my teammates? Like, it's like that attitude, Tom Brady is got to love that guy and wants him on the Raiders.

Like, you you gotta take him first overall. Dude, I just imagine Brady watching the game and, like, him, like, putting Michael Rubin on the AirPods, just putting him on hold, like, as Fernando's playing. And then after that touchdown, him telling Michael Rubin, like, you your your your your team better be signing this guy to an exclusive because he's about to be a raider. So that dynamic's fun. But so he's gonna, in all likelihood, become the first overall pick.

So there's been five other guys who have done this. You've got also we'll start here with a couple players in the forties from my squad, Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Angelo Bertelli in '43 and Leon Hart in '49, they they they completed this. Then you have Cam Newton in 2013. Then you have Jameis Winston in 2015, and then the latest is Joe Burrow in 2019.

So if Mendoza, you know, gets drafted number one, he joins this this, very exclusive group. And so I want I guess, I wanted to know, like, if if he goes and wins a Super Bowl, he's the only player ever who's done this. So that obviously, Joe Burrow and, I guess, even Jameis Winston in a crazy, wacky world scenario could still be a part of this, but, I think there's some fun there. But I say all this, and we're talking to talk about his cards. Like, man, like, I can't imagine the appetite for Fernando Mendoza's cards, and they won't be in Prism or Panini.

They're going to be Topps Chrome. So that adds a whole another layer. They they are as they launched Cooper Flag with basketball. Fernando Mendoza is going to be that of football. And I was looking into, some of his recent sales.

Dude, people were just ripping his cards this week. They were just getting all jacked up. So he had a, Bowman U now auto foil fracture one of one sell for 15 k this week. He had a black shimmer PSA 10 out of 10 sell for 8,300 this week. So we're seeing, people are getting excited.

People are getting jacked up. Rightfully so. I mean, this guy just checked just checked out all the boxes. So how are you feeling about Mendoza being the face of the Tops Chrome football launch? And what what happens if Mendoza is able to win a Super Bowl with the Raiders and with being mentored by Tom Brady.

I mean, this is something I don't think people have really gotten into the weeds on enough yet, but this has the makings of being something that we will never forget once he, becomes a Raider. Yeah. It's it still feels surreal because of the Indiana of it all, of, like, an IU jersey being desirable from a football player. Yeah. I think he's proven himself as like, yeah.

This is a first overall pick type player who can lead an NFL franchise, which is, again, still just crazy to, I feel like, fully wrap my head around. But I think he's the I don't I don't know. Is he the he doesn't seem to be the, like, generational prospect that, like, Cooper Flag is. I feel like Mhmm. Cooper Flag has had hype his entire life and career, whereas Mendoza, it feels like he kinda jumped onto the map with this season at Indiana.

Like, it was kind of more under the radar when he was at Cal. So it does feel just like a he doesn't feel like that generational level, which maybe is for the best because when you're tagged as that type of player, it often, you know, comes with a lot of pressure and scrutiny. So I don't know. If he wins a Super Bowl, though, and is, like, really good in the NFL, like, it's like, is this the best quarterback? Like, overall, like, from a hardware standpoint, if he complete completes that Holy Trinity plus a Super Bowl championship, that's pretty incredible.

Very he'll be he'll be very he's already very decorated. I think when I I watch him play and I see the presser and see the way he interacts, like, he has it. Yeah. And that it is it means a lot of things to me, but I just think you can throw the playbook at this guy, and it's just gonna it's just gonna just absorb it. He's gonna be in front of his teammates.

They're gonna love him. He's gonna know what to say when he's got a microphone and camera in front of him. He just has this will about him. And it's these and on top of it, like, then you can get into, like, the combine traits and the arm and all these things, which, to me, like, almost seems secondary to these intangibles that I feel like as NFL evaluators, they should be doing a more diligent job of, like, surfacing those because in inevitably, it's like the guys who are left at the end all share this in some way, shape, or form. So I don't know.

He's got he's got the special sauce. It'll be interesting to see if the skill set translates in the NFL. I think it will. But I haven't seen a prospect that I'm really excited about from a quarterback perspective in a while, like, to see, like, how it translates. But I just think he's highly intelligent and leader of men.

And if you're drafting number one overall and the lord knows the Raiders have needed someone like this at the helm. You know, the last years of Derek Carr weren't great. So, yeah, I'm excited to see Mendoza in the NFL, and and he's got Tom Brady on speed dial. If if that's the case, that can only help. Yeah.

And Brock Bowers, Genti, you know, there's a good core there in Vegas. And it's funny just to think about how he just seems like the nicest, sweetest kid going to Vegas. That's To be the face of the Raiders. It's like, yeah. So good.

He doesn't fit the mold, like, necessarily. But, you know, it's rules are meant to be broken. Maybe he just like, I'm ready for his heel turn is what I'm thinking now. Dude, he needs to show up in, like, a a cheeky shirt with the buttons down with, like, gold chains, and he just needs to, like, arrive his arrival in Vegas needs to happen at a a UFC event. Yeah.

Front row. Like, I'm your guy. Let's go. Yeah. That Vegas having a good team, though, would be fun for the NFL.

That that would be good. So I'm rooting for you, Fernando. And welcome to the Black Hole. I think we stopped them again, dude. We did.

We did. They're short. And, I don't know. Are they gonna take a play out of the bears playbook and just not be able to convert on third or fourth and short? I think think so.

We got another stop. Let's go. Well, I think we we we have some sales to talk about. Are you ready to run through those? Yeah.

Let's see what what's going on in the football card market. Alright. We had a '97 Skybox premium prime, Deon Sender star rubies, which he talked about the this look and feel of these cards last week, p s a eight. He's he's in cowboys gear in this on this card. This thing sold at auction on eBay for $12,304.

I was looking at the, let's see here, all graded sales. There has been three sales all time. The last sale was in '22 of a PSA nine sold for $5,200. So you have in a four year stretch a an eight selling for 12 k, which is just these cards, man, they they look nice. These nineties football collectors, this market is expanding, but, obviously, another opportunity to talk about a defensive secondary, hall of famer, which is a good one.

But, yeah, man, the set and this category of cards seems to be continuing to gain traction here again in 2026. Yeah. Wild that there's not been more sales with, you know, card numbered out of 50. But, yeah, this this is one of my favorite, like, looking cards of all time just with the background design, the finish, the color, how it always kinda color matches. That is awesome.

If I was a cowboys or Dion collector, that would a 100% be at the top of the list. And I I mean, I guess I don't know that market, the rubies market that well to know if twelve's a good deal or not. But I feel like Barry was up in the high, like yeah. Barry Sanders sold for 57,000, a PSA seven in September. So, like, is 12 a good deal for Dion?

I I mean, the way that he's, you know, still a very public figure and seems like a decent price, I guess, is what I'm trying to get at. Yeah. I'd like, this just seems like a set that's ripe for all sorts of set building, whether it's you're crazy and trying to collect the whole thing or your team set or you're doing hall of fame set. I just I I see a lot of people in my feed collecting this stuff. So when that activity is happening, the price usually goes up.

But, yeah, these cards are amazing looking. The Dion's, there's only three total graded by PSA. A set one seven, one eight, and one nine is what it says on our ladder. So that's crazy. Only three of them are graded.

That's wild. Yeah. Alright. What else? We're moving over to the 2017 Christian McCaffrey Donris optic rated rookie gold vinyl auto PSA nine, auto 10 sold for $10,200.

This car just sold in November on Fanatics Premier for $97.50, and then it got turned around with for a, you know, little $550 profit. But, yeah, this card, obviously, McCaffrey is an incredible player. All pro once again. My question was, would you rather have the auto version of this or the non auto version, which is in, Andy at Buy Buy Baby Cards collection? Normally, I'm a non auto guy, but this one doesn't bug me.

Or, like, I like how this one looks. On card, black ink, auto 10 grade. That's always a nice little thing to have. But overall, I'm a purist. I want the non auto versions.

I I just that's what would fit in my collection. I do have to say, yes. He's a first team all pro this year, but first team all pro at the flex position, not the running back. That went to Bijan. So just and just like, when did they introduce this whole, like, flex position gets a first team all pro?

I don't know how I feel about that. I think you gotta be your position. But what do you think? Of the card or the flex of it all? Card and flex.

I prefer this card's great. I love the optic gold vinyl. I prefer the non auto. I I don't I it's because I'm not a fantasy guy. I don't like anything in the NFL starting to look like fantasy.

And when you add in the flex, I don't like like, fantasy means nothing to me when it comes to evaluation of cards or player stats. I know there's some crossover, but I just I just wanna talk about, like, the the stats and what's really happening. I don't care about fantasy points at all because there's variables. Like, everyone runs their league differently, and it's fantasy. And I don't know.

It's kinda like how I if I wanna watch a football game, I'm not, like, going to red zone. I'm, like, watching the football game. I Yeah. I will watch red zone. It's not above me, and I I do watch red zone.

But if I, like, wanna sit down and watch football, I'm I'm watching the actual game. So that's kinda my perspective. Yeah. That I guess that's what was maybe bugging me about it is this, yes, it kinda blurs into the fantasy where it's not the first team of the position. It's this it's this thing that is was created in the fantasy side of it is now getting recognition on the NFL side, which is just I don't know.

But I guess they did it it's weird, and they haven't done it every year. They did it in, like, 2018 and 2019. They didn't do it for then a few years, and then they brought it back last year. And I don't know. Just like the the nonconsistency of it is a little weird to me, but an unreal player and unreal card.

Exact not take nothing away from Christian McCaffrey. Like, he's so fun to watch, and, he plays continues to play because I really enjoy watching him play football. How about a Jared Stidham card for $2,000 this week? Let's go. $20.19, Stidham out of three Nike RPA.

Looks like a laundry tag. Just the best offer for 2 k on January 18. Someone was like, you know what? I gotta get in the Stidham game. I'm I'm I'm I'm getting itchy watching this.

I got my bets all placed, and I just need a little more. I'm I'm a Stidim believer. And so, you know, the the other thing is this card, it got purchased with, you know, somebody just being like, oh, shit. I know I have a Stidim in my shoebox. And look.

They just grabbed the Stidim and took a picture with a card in their palm. You can, like, see the shoes of the person. They're like, I better get this up on eBay. What I would love to see is what what was this listed at? Was it, like, four k OBO and it went for two?

But yeah. This is amazing. Yeah. Get your feet out of card pictures. Come on.

That's my Looks like they're at a card show, dude. Look. You can see, like are they at a card show cement floor? Just picked it up, took a picture of it, listed it, sold it immediately. Yeah.

That I think I'm rooting for Stidham. I think I'm getting on team Stidham as we as I process it a little more. Why not? Go on a run. Let's not look past let's not look past his rookie cards being in Patriots gear.

True. True. True. True. But, yeah, that's that's a cool card.

That is a cool looking card. I mean, I can't wait to watch Jared Sindem this week. How about this 2014 I love this card. Prism, Johnny football, black finite, one of the variations. There's four this year.

PSA eight. This card sold for $7,607. Dude, this card could have been posted last week on the card callout because he's the ultimate college football legend who didn't do much in the NFL. But Johnny Manziel, man, he's got a strong market. Yeah.

Johnny football. It was a matter of time before people come around to again, like, such an electric college career that, yeah, it didn't fizzle out or his career did fizzle out in the NFL, but the hype of Johnny football was unreal. Watching him in that one of my favorite college players of all time just to watch. This I was watching this card. I was just genuinely curious what it would end up at, and it went way, way higher than I thought.

So, yeah, there's four variations from this year. That's that's pretty insane for this to still fetch $7,600 when there's three others out there that are just like this. But, no, that's a that's an awesome card. And the twenty fourteens, we've talked about that before. It's such a good finite.

One of the strongest sales I've seen in a while, and we close it out with a 2013 SelectGold Payton PSA nine, selling for $6,300. Jordan in my Peyton chat pointed out the fact that three of these have sold, like, for Feb ninth twenty five, 04/27/2025, Jan eighteenth twenty six. The nine's been passed around a little bit. 3,804,000, and now it's April the last sale was 04/27/2025 for 4 k. This might have been mine.

I I sold one at auction last year. But now maybe I should've waited. I was likely consolidating into something else, then this thing jumped $2,300 in less than a year, which is saying something. Do you ever when you look back at cards you've sold before, do you ever track do you ever look back at I wonder what that would sell for now. And does that give you any sort of regret or remorse, are you like, you know, like, I sold it to put in other cards at the same time, which all of that is probably worth a little more now, or does it not even register?

I don't I don't look back. Although, like, talk to me in ten years when this card is, a $30,000 card, it it's the way it goes. Right? Exactly. No.

I remember I sold a 2013 LeBron Kaboom PSA nine to get, like, a different my select gold LeBron. And I sold it at the time. It was, like, a $4,000 card, and that's, a $22,000 card now. And it hurts. I'll just be honest.

I was I see those selling now, and I'm like, okay. That that one stings. Dude, there is a which the there is a card that this hurts even when you sell a card for a decent amount of money, and then someone relists it on a marketplace for, like, an ungodly amount of money. And even just seeing that card that was formerly yours even though no one's buying it, it's like, they've they just listed for that? They if that gets if that gets bin for that, like, man, I'm an idiot.

So it's I feel like that's one of the things. I'm like, why am I, like, getting caught up in what somebody lists a car that I used to have for? And that that is always like and then I'm like, what am I doing? And I'm like, this is you shouldn't consume your thoughts with this. Yeah.

Just always looking forward. Spaceships don't come equipped with rearview mirrors. That's right. Love that quote, baby. Andre.

Alright. Collecting updates? Any any notable purchases added to the stacking size PC? Shout out to my, good pal, Greg, Jack's Jags Museum, jaguars, gold vinyl enthusiast. He's just always finding the safe searches.

He sent me a 2018 Jacobi Berset gold vinyl out of five. In the listing, gold vinyl was not part of the listing. It just said 2018 Prism Jacobi Brissette, I think, out of five. And so he sent that my way, did a little best offer. It's his only Colts card and ended up getting it.

So happy to add. I've got the gold and then, the black finite's just been sitting there on eBay for an eternity, and I just can't get myself. That's the the the thing I'm learning about my collection. It's just like, I can't have everything because I'm unwilling to pay what some people are asking for certain cards. I just that that's like as I'm maturing into this this massive collection.

It's and that's kinda how I feel about going into this Prism run. It's like, I can't just be controlled by what people want for these cards. You just gotta be smart about it. So that I was happy to get the, Berset gold vinyl. I paid a little over a $100, I think, and some people might be like, it's crazy, but it's like, you know what?

I'm comfortable doing that. I compare it with my gold, and I feel pretty good about it. Yeah. That that's a great listing that you were able to or it's always fun when they're when the seller makes a mistake and leaves some words out of a listing. I mean, yeah.

Not trying to take advantage of anyone, but I'm just saying, like, it feels like you're fine. It feels like a dollar been fined. Like, you earned it a little more when it's like, oh, even though they left out keywords, it still hit my net of saved searches because I have this broad web setup. I'm looking at that 2018% finite that's sitting on eBay. That reminds me of there's a twenty eighteen finite Alan Robinson that's I've seen it a million times, dude.

A million times. I've seen it. When it first got listed, I made some strong offers, and the guy declined it. And now since then, that price keeps creeping down, and it's, like, closer to what I originally offered. But now that it's been sitting for so long, I'm like, I don't know.

It's less appealing than when it first popped up. Of course. Of course, it is. So I don't know. We'll see.

Maybe one day this offseason, we'll make another play for it. Cards cards getting stale is a big thing, and the only way you can combat if you wanna if you got cards out there that you just let sit and you finally need money for something, do you gotta throw the, like, 30 to 40% discount alert? Once that's what if when I get hit with that and it literally is, like, taking, like, a thousand $20 off the price, then I that's that. I'm smashing Ben. It's like, oh, yeah.

Now it's time. So I'm I'm constantly waiting for that notification. I feel like an auction's the move. Like, maybe. But I don't know.

Yeah. It's, you never know. Alright. Yeah. I haven't I've got nothing.

No pickups, lately. I feel like it's I have a couple basketball things, but, and some other random purchases, but nothing football related over the last week. Card callout. We asked to see those college stars in NFL. Those were some fun fun submissions.

This week, I was thinking autographs. We haven't done an autograph callout. And with the the McCaffrey on card that we were just talking about and, yeah, some of those other cards, I think let's see some autos. So whatever that may be, it could be in person auto or on card auto from a set, whatever or a sticker auto. I don't care.

I'm not judging. Whatever auto autograph cards you have in your collection that you wanna share with the football card pod, take a picture, share on your story, tag the football card pod on Instagram. I'm just realizing too. I can't believe I didn't note this. We didn't talk about the 06 Bowman Box Break at all that we did last week.

And By by the way, I I was going to I saw you post it like you were doing it, and I was going to tune in. And I was I was, like I thought I was gonna be in a position where I could, like, tune in and maybe, like, join the stream. And I was, like, all set up, and then I was gonna message you. And then it was, like, the baby called, and it was, like, I got, like, an hour. And then I was like, oh, shit.

I forgot that. But then I saw the contents of what you pulled, and I was like, well, maybe it was better I just sat that one out. But just more what I was getting back to is the fact that I wasn't able to go live from the football card pod on Instagram because, apparently, you need a thousand followers to be able to use Instagram live. So Very For a minute there, I was like, do I am I this dumb that I can't figure out how to go do Instagram live? I swear it's just one of these options.

And I'm watching YouTube tutorials, and this guy's like, oh, yeah. And by the way, you have to have a thousand followers. So more embarrassing that we don't have a thousand followers on the football card pod IG. Come on, guys. We're, like, a 175 away, something like that.

100, can't pull it up right now. But, yeah, help us get to a thousand followers so that we can do another box break because that was fun, though we pulled absolutely nothing. It was a fun experience. There was a lot of people in there watching. The chat was active.

It was a lot of fun. So thank you for everyone who tuned into that. We will figure out another one of those here down the line. Don't make us do a twenty twenty five optic JaMarcus Russell gold vinyl one of one giveaway to to get those numbers up, because we will do it if we're forced. We'll do it.

Okay. Thank you for listening to the football card podcast. Have a great weekend. We'll see you next week.