Affordable Tom Brady RC Cards Buying Guide

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Last Updated On: June 29th, 2023

Tom Brady rookie cards are on fire again, and this time they may run for quite sometime (especially the cheap ones).

Before we get into why, buying cards of ‘G.O.A.T.S.’ (greatest of all time) is really a sound strategy as the demand from buyers will always outstrip the supply of cards on the market. That doesn’t mean there won’t be ups and downs in price, and supply and demand, although it does mean that a legend of the game has already completed a legendary career. Simply put: you can’t un-win six Super Bowls. The demand for Tom Brady sports cards will always remain healthy and steady.

This point is extremely important in choosing what players’ cards you plan to buy, especially when your goal is to profit first (not just collect). Buying Zion Williamson cards, or Ja Morant, is what I’d consider speculative. The hope is they become the next Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, or Michael Jordan. But it’s pure speculation as they’re really early in their careers and haven’t established themselves as winners, year after year, MVP after MVP, and championship after championship.

Tom Brady is still playing at a high level at the tail-end of his career, and this is already after having won seven Super Bowl rings and set numerous all-time quarterback records. He is the greatest football player of all time.

Why Tom Brady is on Fire

There are multiple reasons why Tom Brady is hot again. The most obvious of late is his signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As usual, this creates a media frenzy, and a ton of ESPN coverage.

The move to Tampa also exposes Tom Brady to a brand new market of fans. Anybody that casually follows football now has a reason to maybe tip over and root for the Bucs. Because everyone likes a winner, right? Of course the Tampa Bay fans have been eager for a winning team, so they’ll pour in and buy the jerseys, go to games, and tout that they’ve been TB fans all along, and they’re not bandwagon fans. How dare you.

Brady is also going to be featured in a nine episode series by ESPN in 2021. The teaser video for the series puts me to sleep, but it will still get a ton of marketing push and ESPN will make it a winner regardless. The success of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan series titled “The Last Dance” did so well that sports fanatics are super excited about the Brady series. I think it will pale in comparison to be honest, but how often does a legend get featured in a nine episode series nowadays? It’ll be great for Tom Brady, and especially his sports cards.

The good news is, there is plenty of opportunity to ride the coattails of Tom Brady sports cards to some massive profitability. Particularly because it is still the off-season for the NFL, which is generally a better time to buy cards of the greatest players (or any players, really).

What to Buy

This post particularly highlights cheap Tom Brady rookie cards that are simply more affordable than his top-tier rookies. His top-tier rookies cost about as much as a Mazda 3, so below I’ve gathered cards valued around a few months of gasoline instead. Most of these have already skyrocketed, but remain semi-affordable all things considered.

You’ll notice our list contains the current pricing of each card, including the price appreciation over the last 90 days (roughly February through May 2020). This allows us to see if some cards have outpaced others in price appreciation, and we can differentiate between them to potentially buy the cards that have lagged behind (in hopes they’ll catch up quickly).

For simplicity’s sake, I researched every card based on a PSA 10 grade. This means, the pricing is based on the PSA 10 GEM MINT version of each card, and also the population numbers were gathered from PSA’s website. If you plan to buy a PSA 9 MINT version, or a BGS 9.5 GEM MINT, or a BGS 10 Pristine, don’t pay attention to the pricing below and do your own research on the value of each card. Also, if you’re reading this post well after May of 2020, the data will be out of date so use it just as a reference (and of course use your best judgment).

Finally, I have also assessed each card as a Strong Buy, just a Buy, Neutral, or a No. While I truly believe all of these cards will still appreciate in value through next year, I organized this list to show relative differentiation between them. To put it plainly, my goal is to buy as many of the Strong Buys as I can get my hands on first, and work my way down to Buys, maybe some Neutrals, etc.

The assessment rating takes into account whether a card is more scarce in relation to others that are being valued higher. For example, a scarce card (lower population quantity) with lagging price appreciation will rate as a Strong Buy relative to a card that has a higher population, that is being valued higher, and that has experienced more price appreciation in the last 90 days. Clear as mud?

Quick Disclaimer: keep in mind there are no guarantees these will all appreciate in value, and also that I am no financial advisor, fortune teller, or advising you on what to do.

Affordable Tom Brady Rookie Cards Buying Guide