Connor McDavid's rookie card is already selling for $250 on market
Connor McDavid's first rookie card was just released Thursday. It's already worth $250 according to collectors.
By
Chris Peters
•
3 min read
The world of sports collectibles remains fascinating. The sports memorabilia that seemingly everyone has gotten their hands on at least once in their lives are trading cards. It’s the gateway to a bigger addiction for some, a passing hobby of one’s youth for others. But it can lead to some big money if you get lucky.
Take for instance Edmonton Oilers rookie Connor McDavid. The first edition of his rookie card from Upper Deck’s Young Guns Series 1 was released Thursday. The card has already been selling on eBay for between $190 and $250.
Wayne Wagner, owner of Wayne’s Sports Cards in Edmonton, explained what is making the McDavid card so sought after, how to get it and why people are willing to shell ou $1,200 for a case of cards (via the Edmonton Journal):
“If you bought a case of 12 boxes, you would get one for sure,” said Wayne Wagner, who has operated Wayne’s Sports Cards in the west end for 25 years and last saw this kind of hype in 2005 for the Sidney Crosby rookie card.c
“The way it works in this first set — and there will be other Connor McDavid cards, probably 15 throughout the year — it’s called the Young Guns, the most anticipated rookie in the marketplace,” Wagner said. “There are six Young Guns in a box, 50 Young Guns in a set.
“There is a misconception that it’s only Edmonton where he’s selling for $250,” said Wagner, who is doubling staff to six for an anticipated Thursday rush. “If you go on eBay right now, people are pre-selling the card, and these are completed transactions, people have bought the cards for $199 to $250 US. It’s crazy.”
It is crazy, considering that McDavid has played just 13 NHL games and won’t be playing in another for a while after sustaining a broken clavicle earlier this week. The first-overall pick from 2015 is expected to miss months after undergoing surgery with reports of 12 weeks being a conservative timeline for his return.
The injury is not expected to affect the value of the card because early indications are McDavid is everything he was made out to be before the season. He put up five goals and seven assists through his first month of NHL hockey. When he returns, he'll be expected to pick up right where he left off.
McDavid still has a long way to go before his cards start fetching Wayne Gretzky prices, though. According to multiple reports, the most expensive hockey card of all time is Wayne Gretzky’s O-Pee-Chee rookie card. The last time that card sold at auction, graded at gem mint condition, it went for $94,163.
Still, the fact that McDavid’s card is already going for up to $250 the day it was released may say a lot about its future value. It is highly unlikely it will ever reach the levels that Gretzky’s card did. However, Upper Deck’s Chris Carlin told the Edmonton Journal that the company once bought back a Sidney Crosby rookie card from its own line for $20,000. That card included a jersey swatch and came on thicker stock.
We really don’t know what Connor McDavid’s career is going to look like. Anything can still happen and this latest injury just goes to show that he’s not superhuman in at least some ways. Still, there hasn’t been anything like him in the last decade and the fact that he can already fetch $250 for a rookie card is just another example of how sky-high the expectations are for this kid’s future.
(H/T Craig Custance)
