Top 10 Most Valuable: 2020 Contenders Football

For much of 2021, there was an ongoing debate between football card collectors and investors about which QB Draft Class would be better in the long run – the 2020 class led by Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, or the 2021 class led by Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson.

After Burrow’s run to the Super Bowl last year, Herbert leading the Chargers to the playoffs this season, and Jalen Hurts making a bid for MVP, the 2020 class clearly leads the way.

Not to mention Justin Jefferson becoming the league’s top wide receiver, and drawing early career comparisons to all-time greats Randy Moss and Jerry Rice from both a clutch and statistical perspective, and Tua Tagovailoa showing he can be effective in the face of serious injuries, the 2020 class is starting to leave the 2021 class in the dust.

So while Mac Jones gets benched for Balle Zappe, Zach Wilson sits the pine in favor of Mike White, and Trey Lance now has to come back from injury and beat out a red hot Brock Purdy for his job back, the 2021 faces a long road ahead to even be mentioned in the same breath as 2020’s guys.

Sorry Justin Fields, Micah Parsons, Jaylen Waddle, Devonta Smith and Najee Harris, you’re just not going to compete with the year prior from a hobby perspective anymore – and I haven’t even mentioned Jordan Love yet. 🙂

Here are the Top 10 most valuable 2020 Contenders Football players, ranked by their most expensive card sold in the last year. If I didn’t do it this way, the entire list would consist of Burrow and Herbert cards.

Why Contenders? Well, ever since the 2000 Tom Brady Contenders Playoff Rookie Ticket Auto became iconic, it’s kinda been the go-to for NFL rookie autos. Let’s go there.

1. Justin Herbert 2020 Contenders #104 Rookie Ticket Auto – Sold for $5,500 on 12/12/2022 – The Chargers stud star QB taken with the 6th overall pick in the 2020 Draft has already begun living up to his huge 6’6”, 236 lb. frame. He can make all the throws in the game and has been heralded by many analysts and league sources as the best talent that the QB position has in the game today. While his overall stats took a small dip in his third season, he still led the Chargers to the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #104 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Average sale = $5,730 (12 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #104 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $4,170 (5 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #104 Rookie Ticket Auto SGC 9 – Average sale = $3,510 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #104 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9 – Average sale = $3,350 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #104 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $2,850 (1 sale)

2. Joe Burrow 2020 Contenders #101 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Sold for $4,400 on 1/15/2023 – The debate between Burrow and Herbert continues, as Burrow falls to second on the list in spite of the fact that he led the Bengals to the Super Bowl and threw for 10 more TDs in 2022 than Herbert did. All signs point to the former #1 overall pick being a perennial contender in the AFC for  years to come, and for his card value to continue to rise.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #101 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Average sale = $4,170 (11 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #101 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $3,110 (5 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #101 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $2,800 (2 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #101 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation SGC 10 – Average Sale = $3,523.50 (2 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #101 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw – Average sale = $2,550 (12 sales)

3. Jalen Hurts 2020 Contenders #122 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Sold for $2,550 on 1/18/2023 – What a season. Hurts went from potentially losing his starting job, to being a legit MVP candidate, passing for 3,701 yards and 22 TDs with only six interceptions, while also rushing for 13 TDs. The former second round pick now has 26 rushing TDs in only 45 career games.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #122 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Average sale = $2,350 (3 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #122 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation Raw – Average sale = $1,225 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #122 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 9 – Average sale = $771.19 (4 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #122 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $1,080 (3 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #122 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 9 – Average sale = $804.55 (13 sales)

4. Tua Tagovailoa 2020 Contenders #103 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Sold for $1,425 on 12/19/2022 – The fifth overall pick in the 2020 Draft, Tua has dealt with hip injuries and now serious concussion issues early in his career, but in spite of the injuries, he led the Dolphins to an 8-5 record when healthy, passing for 3,548 yards, 25 TDs and only 8 picks – good enough for third in the league in QBR. Word is that if the Dolphins would have advanced against the Bills in the Super Wild Card Round, Tua would have started – which means there’s serious hope for him in 2023.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #103 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Average sale = $1,260 (21 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #103 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $1,030 (6 sales
• 2020 Contenders #103 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 9 – Average sale = $578.71 (6 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #103 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 9 – Average sale = $513.89 (23 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #103 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation Raw – Average sale = $494.88 (8 sales)

5. Justin Jefferson 2020 Contenders #109 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Sold for $950 on 9/10/2022 – The best WR in the game, and definitely the “drippiest,” he has 324 receptions for 4,825 yards and 25 TDs in his first three seasons, but maybe bigger than that, he’s helped change the culture in Minnesota back to a winning one, which makes his cards super intriguing moving forward.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #109 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $676.66 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #109 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 9 – Average sale = $640 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #109 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Average sale = $443 (2 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #109 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation Raw – Average sale = $340 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #RY-JUJ Rookie of the Year Contenders PSA 9 – Average sale = $17.28 (8 sales)

6. Jordan Love 2020 Contenders #111 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation SGC 10 – Sold for $750 on 9/14/2022 – Here we go again! The hype is building for the second round pick, whom we haven’t seen play much behind Aaron Rodgers. But with the future Hall of Famer potentially finally done in Green Bay, Love could get his chance as an NFL starter, which would skyrocket his value heading into the season.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #109 Rookie Ticket Auto SGC 10 – Average sale = $500 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #111 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $484.50 (3 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #111 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Average sale = $464.41 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #111 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Average sale = $410.25 (4 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #111 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation SGC 9.5 – Average sale = $290 (1 sale)

7. Chase Young 2020 Contenders #102 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Sold for $386 on 12/17/2022 – I was kind of surprised to see the former second overall pick among the top 10 sales, especially coming off a serious injury. After a solid rookie campaign, he only played nine games in 2021 and the final three of 2022. The sports card investors buying his cards are betting on a solid comeback in 2023.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #102 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Average sale = $139.09 (3 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #102 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Average sale = $112.50 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #102 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation Raw – Average sale = $39.77 (6 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #102 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw – Average sale = $34.80 (14 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #102 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 9 – Average sale = $34.64 (2 sales)

8. CeeDee Lamb 2020 Contenders #107 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Sold for $237.50 on 1/11/2023 – The 17th overall pick in 2020 has become the latest in a long line of Dallas Cowboys superstar WR1s. Lamb has been phenomenal in his first three seasons, improving in every statistical category from year to year, and helping lead the Cowboys to another playoff run in 2022. He’s a target machine and barring injury, he should be over 100 catches, 1,400 yards and 10 TDs in 2023.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #107 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 9 – Average sale = $142.50 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #107 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 9 – Average sale = $105.50 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #107 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation Raw – Average sale = $98.33 (3 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #107 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 9 – Average sale = $97.33 (18 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #107 Rookie Ticket Auto SGC 9 – Average sale = $75 (1 sale)

9. Brandon Aiyuk 2020 Contenders #110 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation PSA 10 – Sold for $228 on 1/5/2023 – Like Young, I was kind of surprised to see Aiyuk on this list. Granted, he is a former first round pick on a solid team, and recorded his first career 1,000 yard receiving season this year. The ceiling on him is named Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey. The football card market likely isn’t going to support more than one skill position player per team, let alone three. We’ll see.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #110 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation SGC 10 – Average sale = $175 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #110 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Average sale = $135.35 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #110 Rookie Ticket Auto BGS 9.5 – Average sale = $130 (1 sale)
• 2020 Contenders #110 Rookie Ticket Auto Variation Raw – Average sale = $69.82 (10 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #110 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw – Average sale = $42.74 (17 sales)

10. Tyler Huntley 2020 Contenders #273 Rookie Ticket Auto PSA 10 – Sold for $200 on 1/15/2023 – l don’t hate this move, but this is a total flier. Huntley has been slightly above average in relief of Lamar Jackson, since the former NFL MVP went down with a knee injury on December 4. Jackson is expected to re-sign with the Ravens, but Huntley himself is a restricted free agent, and there are always a plethora of teams looking for QBs. He may be a solid buy low.

Here are his next best five best selling cards in the last 365 days:

• 2020 Contenders #273 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw – Average sale = $59.09 (18 sales)
• 2020 Contenders #273 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw BGS 9 – no recent sales
• 2020 Contenders #273 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw BGS 9.5 – no recent sales
• 2020 Contenders #273 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw SGC 10 – no recent sales
• 2020 Contenders #273 Rookie Ticket Auto Raw SGC 9 – no recent sales

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Paul Hickey is a regular contributor to Sports Card Investor, the creator of the Sports Card Investment Report at NoOffseason.com, and the host of the Sports Card Strategy Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. He can be found on Instagram at @sportscardstrategy and on Twitter @nooffseasoncard.