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Welcome to the Stacking Slabs, a podcast for sports cards collectors. There's been a tremendous amount of change to our Hobby over the last few years and the one constant has been the passion from the collecting community. Stacking Slabs is built by the collector and lives to tell stories for the collector.
Hello, and welcome to the Football Card Podcast. This is it. You made it. It's Friday, and you are listening to the fastest growing podcast in the entire world that's centered on football cards and, most importantly, football cards. I'm your host, John, aka Pat Nicholson.
And with me, as always, is mister Stacking Slabs himself. Brett, how you doing? We must start off with a music lyric. I was thinking about this. Obviously, I knew I would be asked how I'm doing and will say this.
How do I say goodbye to what we had? The good times that made us laugh outweigh the bad. I thought we'd get to see forever, but forever's gone away. It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. So quoting the great boys to men, one of my favorite R and B groups of all time, bringing a little nostalgia in to, alleviate some of the misery and pain I have gone through over the last, twenty four hours as we're recording this.
But, yeah, things are a changing here in Indianapolis. Obviously, I'm referencing in one day, getting rid of and trading two side of the building, guys. This is this is unprecedented territory. You know, usually, we'll see one side of the building guy gone, and then they put the thank you for the memories, tag on their banner outside of Lucas Oil. But to see Quintin Nelson and DeForest Buckner both traded in one day, was something to be, seen.
You know, I'm actually doing quite alright. I was telling you beforehand, I tried to stay off Instagram yesterday. Got just a lot of DMs from, loyal listeners here, and I appreciate your condolences. My MO through the grieving process is I don't really wanna have a conversation about it. So the the messages have been seen.
Appreciate it. But, yeah, man, we... It's just what you do during rebuild. And when Ballard got shit canned, this is what the expectation was. So really no surprise, especially on Buckner and Nelson.
You have two expiring contracts of two of your best players, and the name of the game right now in Indianapolis is draft capital. That's what you gotta do and try to free up salary cap. It's a horrible, horrible, like, position to be in in season as a fan because nothing matters and it's still very, very early. So, yeah, man, it reminds me in a way of 2012 when, Manning was cut and then you got the new GM, you've got luck coming in, and it's like Colts, you know, cut Dallas Clark, Joseph Adai, Gary Brackett, all these guys to help win you a Super Bowl. And that was that was way more sad to me than this because although Buckner and Nelson were pillars and cornerstones, we we sucked during their entire time here.
Like, we've been very bad for a very long time. So there's less pain. I'm I'm happy for those guys ending up in situations where they can win a Super Bowl. I think both of those situations... And I would imagine they were, having conversations with their p...
Their people and agents to make sure they landed in a good spot. So, yeah, man. It's... It sucks, but, yeah, man. It's a it's a new day here at Indy.
The only thing I can hope is that, Shane Steichen gets shit canned as soon as possible because I can't... I'm so sick of hearing him. I'm so sick of seeing him. I'm so sick of the reports of people saying, oh, he'll get picked up for a head coaching job right away. Like, guy's been a loser for four straight seasons.
He doesn't say anything. He tries to withhold information. I'm so tired of him. He's backing Daniel Jones. He's been the worst quarterback in the NFL.
It's just... I just don't wanna look at... I can deal with losing every game for the rest of the season, but I can't deal with him anymore. So the quicker Shane Steichen gets run out of town, the better. So we could really rebuild this thing.
So that's how I'm doing, man. How are you? I'm not bad. On a football front, I'm more excited and optimistic than I've been in years and years. This reminds me of the bears trading away Cleo Mac, trading away Roquan Smith, like, mid twenty twenty one, 2022 seasons where it was just stripping it down.
It's it's brutal to go through, but I guess it's part of part of it is maybe nice that, you know, like, that's happening. Like, you rip the Band Aid off. It's no more like, oh, are we are we gonna at all, like, turn this around and maybe win some games? Or are we probably should rebuild? What are we gonna do?
It's like, okay. It's happening. Like, this is Mhmm. It's... So maybe there's some solace there that at least at least you know that this is happening, and that's a little more exciting than just, like, being bad and nothing's changing.
Yes. It is. It is. And, you know, as we record this, who knows if anything else will happen next? But I will say, like, my spirits and the way I feel about this situation might be a little different if the Colts decide to trade Jonathan Taylor.
It... The reports right now seem like Carly wants to keep him around. I mean, if you get rid of Jonathan Taylor, like, what do you... Like, what, like, do do fans have any reason to show up to the game? So he is...
It is unlike the other two guys who are on expiring. Taylor got extended. So, I I think, like, during times of change and transition, you need, like, one stable, force in that, whether it's business, whether it's life, whether it's, you know, sports. And I think that's Taylor. And Taylor has remarked, that he he wants to be here and wants to stay here.
So I would like to... They... Honestly, dude, at this point, it's take your pick outside of, you know, the young first contract guys and, like, an Alec Pierce who, of course, got hurt after his big deal, like Tyler Warren. You don't wanna see him go. But it's just like any...
And Bernard Ryman left tackle who just got paid who's very good. Like, you don't wanna see him go. But outside of that, in Jonathan Taylor, it's just like, take your pick at whatever you want because when the new boss man comes in, there's going to be a vision, and he will build within that vision. So, yeah, man. That's that's kinda what's been going on.
So it has been sad. It has been pathetic, but I am very much kinda like how I always do with anything. I'm I'm I'm eyes are forward. I'm trying not to look back. Eyes are forward.
So the rest of the season is gonna be miserable. I honestly don't know how many games I'm gonna go to as a season ticket holder. I just, you know, time is money. And I got a family, I got a business, and that has been my escape. And it's not really an escape when it's just absolute miserable, and you you you know you're gonna walk into the game to lose.
So I can imagine my, visits to Lucas Oil will go down, and I might just light that money on fire because no one else will wanna go. But that's the state of the franchise. Well, wish you the best. It's the brighter days are ahead. Two years ago, I was watching Matt Eberflus not take a time out on Thanksgiving and watching time run out and losing games in devastating fashion.
And, a year, two years later, got a playoff win. So, you know, it can... It'll turn around. There's an opening topic here that I think, piggybacks nicely off of this current state of the Colts, state of fandom. Yeah.
71 opening topic. You wanna get into that? Yeah. I do. And it's it's it's, a little ironic in a way because you had all these changes happening.
And these changes were were... Are the changes to my collecting were happening pre the bomb going off here in Indianapolis. So, like, as I was going through this thing, I... About... Regarding team collecting, which I've been very, public in talking about just my collection shift.
I thought, like, this... And I'm going through this in the current mode. This might be a, interesting topic to dig into. I wanna get your thoughts, and would love to get kind of the, community's thoughts. But the question is, how do team collectors deal with moments when there's a fireside sale or there's change or transition?
Do the players that were a part of the existing collection matter as much now. Inevitably, it's rare for players to remain on the same team for their entire careers. And, obviously, there's reasons players move move and that's circumstantial. But I wanna explore how, as a team collector, we deal with these shifts. So I know, like, we have talked about this.
You know, you collect the bears, and you've talked about, like, guys. And then, like, maybe if there was guys move teams, they're not... Those cards aren't as important. But I wanna open that topic up a little bit and get your thoughts. Yeah.
No. It's super interesting. I think it's something everyone goes through. Even if it's not team collecting, if it's player collecting or any sort of collecting of a player who's active... Generally active.
And if you're putting any hope into that player, you know, there's something there. Like, if you're collecting with hope involved in the card, it becomes a trickier thing when that hope is taken from you or there's no reason to have hope anymore, and now you're looking at a player who didn't pan out the way you wanted to or their career didn't pan out or the team performance didn't pan out. So... And that happens when you are collecting active players versus if you're sitting here collecting a Mickey Mantle or Michael Jordan even where it's like, okay. That's pretty much established.
I am just collecting this player based on nostalgia or history or whatever it may be. Like, none of that... Like, you're not hoping that there's gonna be a Mickey Mantle documentary that comes out or any... It's it's just like... That's pretty much set in stone.
So when it comes to team collecting, I think that, I don't know. For me, when that hope is gone, I don't necessarily want that card anymore, especially... Then it depends on, like, how much you spent on that hope. That's another, like, factor in this. Like, I'm thinking specifically DJ Moore.
DJ Moore had some great Bears moments. I had a bunch of cool DJ Moore one on ones, but after he left the team last year, at the end of last year, I was just kinda like, do I need five of these? Like, I can maybe just keep one that symbolizes him and... Because having five of them to me was like, I hope DJ Moore becomes the Bears all time leading receiver, and he becomes this, like, becomes one of those pieces that I look back on and, like, he has that history and accomplishments that is a reason to continue collecting him. He didn't get to those marks.
So it was like, okay. I guess I'm gonna sell this. And I don't know. I feel like similar thing probably for you where it's, alright. Some of these players can go.
Some of these guys can go. But, yeah, I just think that when something like this happens, like, for me, it was always just kinda like just shit... Like, adjusting the Madden meters of, like, what you're collecting is. If it's like, I collect Colts, I collect wrestling, I collect Pacers, like... And your Colts was at, like, a four out of five.
It's like, alright. Maybe we're gonna bump that slider down a couple notches, and we're gonna bump up wrestling or bump up Halliburton or bump up Yeah. Some other thing. And, like, the more projects and lanes you have, you can kinda pick and choose where to go. So I don't know.
I don't think there's one right answer. I just can only kinda speak on my experience. But for me, it's always just been kinda, like, shift focus, sometimes, like, selling off some stuff, which then it's always the worst time to sell stuff off. Of course. Like, selling DJ more stuff.
It's like, no one wants DJ more right now. He's on the bills. He's hurt. He hasn't, like, had a breakout game with them or anything. So you take an l, and then you just move on.
The, thing that I've been thinking about is the difference within this where I'm finding a difference in, like, when you have a player that was highly productive and then because the team sucks and they're rebuilding, the player gets traded and is still playing. It... To me, it is... It... Those cards instantly become less attractive in my personal collection as opposed to having a player who put in their time on my team, had a lot of good memories, then got traded, and had another chapter in another career, but then was retired.
And so it was like that time, like, out of sight, out of mind, it's like you almost don't remember them having another run somewhere else, and you just wanna focus in on, like, the good times you had with that player in those moments. That's one observation I've been making about this as I've been going through this. I think the other thing is... And this is the most important for me where it's like, and this started before all of this news where I was, like, very focused on change and transition because I think era and the era of your team and what's going on and all the products and all the sets and all that stuff. I think the era really matters in in the environment of that era.
And when I think I think of... I like was... I've been contrasting these fandoms where I contrast the... My Colts fandom, which is a very, very important part of my life, with my fandom for the Pacers and fandom for Halliburton. And I think about the last ten years.
Like, you know, the Colts haven't won the AFC Sal since 2014. We have not won a playoff game since 2018. We haven't been to the playoffs since 2020. So this last decade has sucked. And it's like regardless of who has been on the team, my willingness to keep your cards when you exit is a lot lower because there were not very many happy times.
Actually, most of it was miserable. So it's like, why am I commemorating this team in this franchise with this collection that sucked even if the players were good? You contrast that with just my fandom as a Pacers player or a Pacers fan. It's like, they gave me everything I could have possibly wanted with this just magical run to the finals, and if it wasn't for a Halliburton injury, hell, they could be champions. So, like, I don't know.
Like, I think... This is what I've learned, John. We need to hold our teams and those players in our collection accountable. And if we have a run where our team sucks, no matter how cool the cards are, they should be up for judgment day, and we should look at them long and hard. And final point here, I think about Chris Seed Ice cards, and I really like what he does here.
He brands a piece of his Raven's PC as the immortals, and the immortals have been all the way to the mountaintop. They've been a part of those Super Bowls. When he looks at those cards and those players, they make him feel something different than everything else. And I think that is really important. I think having a subset of your team collection that is dedicated and more untouchable than everything else, regardless of the, product or the parallel.
Like, I think that part is cool because regardless, like, if you're having a shitty day and you open up your collection and you look at the card, you at least have those memories that you can tie it to that are happy and not memories of frustration. Yeah. Absolutely. I was thinking... I was putting myself in your shoes, Colt's fan shoes.
I was like, what would I be doing from a collecting standpoint? Like... And to me, it's like looking back. Like, okay. It's like this team's stinks.
What can I? What was the team that I liked that went to the mountain top that is immortal in my mind? Edron James jumps out to me personally just because I'm a running back guy, but I'm like, I I think I would try and build the sickest Edron James collection of all time and just, like, hyperfocus on that or anyone from that Manning, Marvin, Edron era. I mean, there's just... Take your pick.
There's so many awesome players who brought joy and, you know, they're in some of those great late nineties, early two thousand sets. So, yeah, I think that's another thing too is just looking back, going back to the teams that did... That the hope isn't part of it anymore. It's purely, like, looking back in in glory. And, so...
Yeah. That's that's it. There's another opening topic, and I wanna dig in. Hopefully, non Colts related, and, hopefully, we don't have to, hit it the whole episode. But this is interesting, man.
And I thought this was interesting from a, we are football card collectors. We are trying to buy great cards, and I... This is just an interesting observation. This is just one example. But I was looking through card ladder, shout out card ladder, and digging into, sales performance.
And I saw the sale of... I'm gonna put it up on the screen. I saw the sale of this Kenneth Walker the third Bowman CHROME Superfractor, and this card sold at auction on October 23. Walker's in his Chiefs gear. This card's sold for $5,000, and I was like, wow.
Like, that's a pretty big sale. Running back, this product that is not Topps Chrome. It's Bowman Chrome, which has history, but it's... I don't think anybody looking at the Topps license would say this is the premium product. It's...
It would be a secondary product in my mind. So then... And instantly, I looked at this and was like, well, what's the last Kenneth Walker the third to, Finite that's sold? So he had his 2024 finite one of one... Black finite one of one cell in August 2026, so not too long ago, a couple months ago.
And this sold for $3,240, and it's a PSA 10. So that, to me, like, told me something. And I... And it's like, with this instance particularly, like, you could say, like, okay. The Seahawks...
Like, in most circumstances, I think you could say, okay. The Seahawks collectors are out on Kenneth Walker, because he he left. But, again, like, the whole Walker thing, like, they didn't... The the the Seahawks chose not to pay him. Like, that...
That's something that's gotten lost in him playing his old team and all this. It's like the Seahawks chose not to pay him, and the Chiefs decided to pay him. And that's why he left, and that's how business works. But, anyways, this guy was this freaking Super Bowl MVP of the Super Bowl that they won. So in my mind, Kenneth Walker the third is immortal.
He is a part of this immortal label. So that's just getting into the weeds on, like, the the the team collecting dynamic and component of all this. But I I thought those two sales were interesting where the new stuff, I think, will always be the expensive stuff stuff. But I saw these two sales, and I figured, like, this is something, important to talk about. So I wanna get your reaction to these two sales.
And then I also want to kinda get into, like, what's the move for us as football card collectors right now? Do we play in the fire of the new stuff, revert back to the Panini era, or find something else niche? So that's what I wanted to open up on topic number two here. Yeah. I mean, the the new stuff's always expensive.
That Bowman Superfractor, him and chief's gear, I feel like there's something there of... Based on his electric start to the season in Chiefs gear, you know, there's just excitement around that. Like, that is a card that... There's a lot of... There's, like, more hope in that card than in the Seahawks one.
The Seahawks one is more set in stone. Like, I could see... If I'm a Seahawks fan, I want that finite... The Seahawks black finite. Like, that's the card I want.
And if that... And I'm happy that that's much cheaper than his 2026 Bowman Superfractor. If I'm a prospector dealer flipper, I probably maybe want the Chiefs one. I don't know if I'd... I wouldn't pay that much.
I think that's based on seeing that finance sale. Like, I wouldn't pay that much for the Bowman Chrome, but at the same time, like, that's becomes a card that has, I think, more appeal to current collectors who are, you know, playing that game where, oh, it's him in the Chiefs gear. First year, Bowman Chrome Super Factor? Like, since Bowman Chrome's been back with a license. Right?
Or did they have a '25? No. That's the first NFL. So maybe there's something there. But I was also looking.
He had his 2025 Topps Chrome Superfractor in Seahawks gear sold in June for $7,500. So that's another just data point there where Topps Chrome Topps Chrome is just selling like crazy. I mean, those... The 2025 Topps Chrome Superfactors are selling for huge money. But I think for me, it's the...
I love... Like, there's nothing wrong with playing with the current stuff even if it's more expensive. I think certain things are more expensive. I think certain stuff is just getting lost in the shuffle too. I think you can look at 2025 Topps Chrome and see that that Kenneth Walker Superfractor sold for, yeah, $7,500.
I bet his black geometric sold for a $150, $200. I bet another one of his parallels out of five sold for a couple $100. You know? I think there's... Those, like, top one of ones are just crazy expensive to go for that, but, like, it...
I I don't think everything is that expensive. Like, I don't think 2026 Bowman Chrome across the board is stupid expensive. I think if you can find a parallel, find an insert, find something that you like, like, you can still go into that. Like, I've been picking up a couple more, like, twenty twenty five tops finest cards. Like, they're so cheap.
Like, I just got a sick Luther Burden rookie for, like, under a $100 that's, like, numbered... Like, really low numbered. I'm like, this is fun. Like, I can still engage with this current team and pick up some cool parallels, but I'm not... It's not only, like, super factor or bust.
I can just kinda, like, pick and choose and get smaller cards here and there, and that keeps me engaged in the active market. So... Yeah, I don't know. What what do you think? I I...
There's a lot on my mind on this. So I think one of the things that I'm thinking about... And I agree with you. I agree that the... There are a lot of areas in these new products that you can buy, have fun, and explore, and stay engaged and, connect with your team.
And some of those might be even lower. Like, you said, the black geometric, you know, you... The reds, whatever. The the thing I think that is an important disclaimer, and I can't predict the future, but I think it's important to call out that these times with these parallels that are affordable is dramatically different than when these... When tops had the license previously, and there was, like, eight parallels within, each product in one product configuration as opposed to multiple product configurations with a laundry list of parallels.
And I just... Like, there was no breaking then, so I think that's just important to call out where if you are just collecting this stuff because you wanna stay engaged, you wanna build a binder, or you wanna, you know, have an awesome collection of your team because they're really good, that's awesome. That's why we're here. That's what we're doing. But if you're seeking to find long term value in those cards, I wouldn't bet that that long term value will hold up based on just the flood of product configurations in parallel.
So that's that's just one observation that I have. I think the second observation, dude, is, like, I... I've been observing this in football. I've been observing this in wrestling. And the more and more I see these big sales, the more and more I have confirmation for myself as a collector to run as far away as possible from the new stuff, and find and focus in on product sets, players, things that nobody else is talking about, and try to find value there on cards that I like.
And that's not saying go buy finites instead of super factors. I'm I'm not recommending that. I'm I'm recommending, like, going through and doing the work to find value in sets that no one's talking about, and you're researching, and you find some angles that speak to you, like, that's the opportunity, I think. So that is kind of where my head has been at, but these... Dude, I don't even like...
When new releases come out, like, I'm to the point in my collecting career where, like, it might sound very, snobbish, but, like, if I'm spending money, I want it to be on something very, very rare and unique. And I just... I I... I'm almost... I'm so, like, disinterested because of the price of these new cards where I...
I'm just like, I have been collecting, and I know this song and dance long enough, and I know how this works. And I feel like the gas has been thrown on the fire with, like, the flipper world and grabbing these cards and then flipping them and reselling them for more. Like, I'm just, like, good. And I think the cards they're making are cool. Like, I think that Kenneth Walker card, it looks great, but it's just, like, I'm just not interested right now.
Yeah. And I... Again, it's everything in moderation. Like, all of these, I think of my different lanes, pillars, buckets, projects, whatever you wanna call it where it's... The bears is a thing.
The bears spans a 100 years of collecting. So, like, that's separate. But then I think of, like, players where I have priest homes, and that kinda checks, like, this early two thousands bucket. I have Bijon, which is kinda, like... And I only have a couple Bijan cards, but, like, that's an active player.
Le'Veon Bell, similar to Priest Holmes, but kinda in the in between where... Like, I'm not only buying Bijan cards, but, like, he's there to scratch that itch if there is, like, some sort of new set or just a save search pops up where I think something is cool and rare and has the right value. It's like, I'll pick that up. Or same thing. Just a set, 2,002 finest.
Like, I have that as, like, something that I can always fall back on. Like, I have so many of those different projects that if, like, one of them is bumming me out, like, if the bears are pissing me off or if Bijan blows out his ACL, it's like, okay. I'm just gonna turn that slider down and jump up into something else. They were same thing. Like, if...
Alright. These Bijan new releases are getting way too expensive. This is crazy. I'm not... I just won't buy them, and I'll, like, funnel that into something else.
So I think that... That's another thing just... I think there's a question later. Someone kinda touches on this on, like, having different, prioritizing, like, different lanes of collecting. And I think it's all fluid, and you just gotta kinda, yeah.
And and with the new stuff, don't ever think you have to buy it right now because it's always gonna go down. Like, at... And time of release to a year later, two years later, the chart will almost always be down into the right. But sometimes I understand people want the card. Like, you just...
That doesn't matter. And if that doesn't matter, get the card. Like, if you if you have the funds and the resources and you just want the cards and you really don't care about, you know, return on investment or anything, then I don't know. Don't listen to me. Buy whatever buy whatever you want.
Alright. Pick'em leaderboard. Let's check it out. In first overall, Knicks basketball PC. Basketball collector at the top of the football card podcast pick them with a record of sixty one and thirty one.
Wow. They pull they pull the game up on the second spot, which is at fifty nine and thirty three Lucas, and then rock chalk cards right there at fifty nine and thirty two. So 61 wins is the the score to beat. As far as last week, our winners were Vital Cards and Lucas, who both went ten and four. Really good weekend in a week where there were several upsets, so good on them.
I think, one, if not both of them picked... Yeah. Vital cards picked the Falcons over the 40 niners, so good on them. And, yeah. So get your picks in.
We're not at the halfway point. We're getting to week eight. This NFL season's flying by. The NFL season always flies by. And, thankfully, we have that seventeenth week now.
But getting into that, week eight, it's kinda crazy. It feels like the, you know, kind of the halfway point of the season. So keep getting your picks in, and we will see who is going to join us on the football card pod, and have their victory speech and also who gets a trophy. So, yeah, get your picks in. I I thought Knicks basketball PC might slow down a little bit now that the NBA is tipped off.
And it it it feels like quite the opposite. Hasn't missed a beat. Just a pick em god. Okay. Also, shout out football card pod in the wild, Dobbs card guy listening to the football card pod overlooking a serene lake.
Love to see that. Why listen to the sounds of nature and a babbling brook and willows blowing in the wind when you can listen to this? I wanted to be there. I got a chance to meet Dobbs card guy this year at Fanatics Fest, which was awesome. But when I saw the picture, I just wanted to...
That's where I wanted to be. I needed the the the... It's very solace, very peaceful. But, yeah, appreciate all the FCP in the wild. That really gets me excited every time I see it.
I try to repost it on my my account, just because I think it's awesome. You're all going the extra mile. So let's see more of it this week. Absolutely. Episode 71.
Seventy one weeks straight. Shout out us. Shout out the listeners showing up every single week. We've got a few hall of famers. We got Tony Baselli.
We've got George Connor. We've got Fred Dean, Walter Jones, Alex Karas, and then a couple other soon to be hall of famers. But who do you wanna talk about today, Brett? It's a good this is a good group here. This is.
Very good. Well, I'm actually seeing, like... Did I even consider Larry Allen, but I feel like in any other week, Larry Allen would have been my pick. This was tough. I had to go with Walter Jones.
So all you, Seahawks fans will be excited, which I know you're not trying to excite the Seahawks fans because you got a big Monday night matchup, but we've gotta pay tribute. So Walter Jones, '97 to 2008, all Seahawks all the time, four time first team All Pro, two time second team All Pro, two thousands all decade team, a hundredth anniversary team. Here's, a fun stat about Walter Jones. Across his twelve year NFL career, this is a 180 games, 5,703 snaps. Jones allowed only 23 sacks and was called for holding nine times.
He went two years without giving up one sack. OCU Minora, I think, ended up getting that sack on him. But, when I think of in the trenches, lineman from this era, he is the very first guy. I feel like he's always the, guy on tape that it's like, go look at what Walter Jones is doing. So incredible player, and I also thought this was cool.
I was like, let's check out some Walter Jones cards. So we've got his his rookie year, '97, metal universe, Walter Jones. He's got the first year green PMG in Florida State Seminoles gear. Just an awesome card. Non Seahawks card, but it's the Seahawks colors on the green.
So it's like foreshadowing what's to be for Walter Jones, but just hell of a pro. Shout out Walter Jones. Yeah. That's awesome card. PMG Emerald for the Emerald City.
Larry Allen, little stat correction. He wore 71 for two years, his last two years when he was in San Francisco. But while he was on the cowboys, he was 73. Mhmm. So we can throw Larry Allen Allen some flowers here in a couple weeks.
Mhmm. But, this is a stacked number. 71 is very stacked because there's two I wanna talk about. One, Trent Williams, active player, but another one just holding it down. I was looking up Trent Williams' stats and seeing that...
Let's see. In sixteen years, he missed one season fully, but out of 211 games, he started 210. Three time first team all pro, 12 time pro bowler. I... There is something about seeing those offensive linemen where they have the, like, 200, games played, 200 games started.
They just didn't miss time for injuries. They're just always playing, which is just... We need a name for something like that. Like, they're... You have elevated beyond a big ugly.
You are a... Like, you're a statue, a monument. Like, you just... Movable object that just... Like, the Walter Jones stats, the the allowing 23 sacks and only called for holding nine times.
Dominant. I'm watching the bears have 12 penalties a game, and I think a left tackle over a thirteen year career only had nine holding calls is just ridiculous, especially in an era when there were a lot of good defensive ends, Mhmm. In in the mix. And and Walter paving the way for Shawn Alexander. But one other one I had to shout out, Tony Baselli, because I was reading more about Tony Baselli and kind of forgot that he was the first overall pick twice because he was the first overall pick in...
Actually, I take this back. He was second overall in 1995. How did I mess this up? But he he was second overall in the ninety five draft. I thought he was first overall.
He went behind Kejana Carter, legendary Penn State running back. What could have been? What could have been. But Baselli goes second overall to the Jags, has a great career there, and then he was the first overall pick in the two thousand two expansion draft, which I kinda forgot the expansion draft ever happened, with the Texans. When the Texans became a team, there was the expansion draft, which basically, every team made five players available, and the Texans gotta kinda pick and choose who they wanted, which crazy concept just thinking about that in...
If that were to happen today. I mean, it happening in 2002. I don't remember, like, the politics of it, but thinking about that now where... What if you're one of those five players that your team put up for the expansion draft and you didn't get picked, and now you're back on the team when you'd be pissed? So so in the NFL...
So in... Let's see here. Most recent memory for me would be like, there's been expansion in the WNBA, and what they do is they... You protect six players on your team. So...
And then everyone else is free reign. In the NFL, it is you offer five? That's what it is? That's what it was. So NFL on a...
This was just... I should have this pulled up. Teams placed many quality players on the list who had large contracts. Okay. That's part of it then.
Yeah. That makes sense. The Texans were required. I swear somewhere I saw that, each NFL team listed five players that the Texans could select, and the Texans were required to claim either 30 players or 27,200,000 in contracts, 38% of the 2,002 salary cap. After the Texans selected a player from an existing team, that team could remove a player from their remaining list.
If a second player was taken, the existing team could then pull back its remaining players. However, teams were not required to remove players from the draftable list, resulting in three jets and three jaguars being drafted by the Texans. And no existing teams were not allowed to put kickers or punters on the list, which kinda makes sense. It's like you can't just two backup punters as part of your, list. So...
And looking through this. So Tony Baselli was the first player taken by, the Texans, and then he never played for the Texans. He got hurt, and then he retired. So Do you remember the Texans' first year offensive line with David Carr? One of the worst ever.
I remember there was, like, a NFL commercial where it was, like, David Carr taking a snap from just the center, and he had, like, no cards or tackles. And it was like, every team needs something. And I was like, woah. You're just openly shitting on this... Your new franchise.
But, interesting nugget here, the third player picked by the Texans in the expansion draft from the New York Jets, a cornerback, Aaron Glenn. How about that? Coach Aaron Glenn, who went on to make a pro bowl with the Texans. So decent decent pick. That's pretty much it.
Jermaine Lewis, another kinda notable name from the Ravens. But beyond that, Danny Werfel, Chicago Bears legend. But, yeah, the expansion draft. Just thinking of that process and here reading about how the Texans could pick a player and then the team could remove a player, like, that would be great television that I would watch today. So I think we're due for another expansion draft.
I'm sure another will happen in our lifetime based on all the international expansion that is being discussed, and that is likely happening. So we'll see it one day. But, just thinking if, like, social media was around during that o two expansion draft, there there would have been some great great content, great memes. But, yeah, shout out Tony Baselli. Just another massive player.
But also someone that... I'm like, alright. If Tony Baselli is in the hall of fame, get Priest Holmes in the hall of fame. Because tone... Tony Baselli played seven full seasons.
Very controversial inductee. Five time Pro Bowler, three time first team all pro. Like, good. That's good. But, I don't know.
I don't know. The the the... I'm gonna take out my pallbearer urn, and I'm gonna lift it up to resurrect an idea. And the idea is the in in the trenches set that we're going to bring to life. The in the trenches example that I wanna see is one of the funniest feuds of all time.
And for all of you, go back and look at the content. You can easily find it. But Bruce Smith and Tony Baselli. Bruce Smith hates Tony Baselli, and he thinks he's a chump. And he's very public and outspoken about it.
But there's a lot of good content in that feud, and that should be the... In the trenches example. That what is... Okay. Bruce Smith is number 78, so we'll talk...
We talked about this at length at the We have. We brought it up. Point, the Bruce Smith and Tony Bucelli feud. That's Maybe... I think a Bucelli black finite sold, and we might have covered it or something.
Yeah. But, I forgot all about that. That is incredible. And I I side with Bruce Smith. Tony Boselli shouldn't be in the hall.
Sorry, Jags fans. Alright. 71. Good stuff. Shot...
I'm... I am... That's another thing I was thinking about too. I was like, I would maybe start collecting some of these guys. Like, if you have...
If you cross that threshold of, like, 200 games, 200 games started, if you're, like, one of these monumental linemen. Like, what a sick PC that would be if you had the, like, where's the Walter Jones PC? The sick Walter Jones card, a sick, Trent Williams card, George Connor, Larry Allen. Yeah. Just so many so many good guys.
So How about a piece... How about after a 100 episodes, the the pack and stack PC of having a card from every player featured in the Oh. There we go. Be expensive. That would be.
But that's that's a fun one. I'm just thinking about, like, the pancake PC of just, like, the biggest lineman you can get. And, yeah, I was also thinking too when we eventually cross a 100 and have to run it back, we could just run it back and just highlight different people. That's basically what we could. We could.
Alright. Should we get into some questions? Let's do it. Okay. First up, from Terrell Suggs fifty five.
Would you rather... Dot dot dot. You finally find the low number nineties insert that has been on your white whale list forever. The only issue is the card is currently in a one inch loose site four corner screw down with no top loader. Seller is firm on selling as is.
Do you pay an arm and a leg and keep it sealed? Or roll the dice, unscrew it, and allow it to breathe fresh air from the current millennium? Side note, if it helps make the decision easier, Brendan Fraser from The Mummy could lend his service to open up the card sarcophagus. I like how we're bringing fictional characters into this. This is, very innovative, very creative.
Let it breathe. That would be my recommendation. And I'll buy anything as is if it is something that I have been looking at forever. Like, I wouldn't let that stop me. I think the biggest issue I'd have...
Or not issue, but the the biggest reason why I'd let it breathe is, like, where, like, where am I gonna put this card that's Yeah. One of these big cases. Like, it it needs to fit within the case. So my main objective, regardless of the condition, would be able to get it in a place where I can just put it with the rest of my cards. Yeah.
I love putting a new card into new gear. Like, the second I get it, even if it's already in a... Not every single card, but certain cards, even if it's in a new penny sleeve in a top loader, I take it out. I put it in a brand new penny sleeve because I also, like, wanna take it out and look at it, look at condition. It goes into a new penny sleeve, into a new one touch.
One touch goes into a one touch sleeve, and it rests in my PC intel. Eventually, I do a a grading order depending on what type of card it is. But... So I'm always opening it. I'm not sure what he says...
Why he says unscrewing it would be rolling the dice. Like, to me, that is not a... Is there, like, risk involved there that maybe it's been so pressed down that, like, releasing it is gonna, like, rip it apart? If so, I'm still... Like, I'd still want it in, like, brand new protection.
So I'm opening that up. Let it breathe. Crack it open. Okay. I'm glad you prioritize the hygiene of your cards.
Like, I prioritize the hygiene of my cards. When new card comes in, existing plastic on that card is going directly in the trash can. Always. You do do not keep the plastic that it comes with. You don't know the hands and Yep.
The touch... Like, that is... You might as well just start licking dollar bills. That... That's that's that's the that's the first thing I do.
I can't wait to get that plastic off because I just can't imagine what... Who touched it. Yeah. That's that's a very important... When I see people selling cars that still have, like, the eBay seal on it, I'm just like, I'm I'm I'm no...
I'm... No. I'm not interested anymore. Like, no. Thanks.
But, yeah, I just... I got out with the old and with the new. Like, I gotta... It's gotta be clean. I I need my slabs nice and clean.
No boogers or poop or, any other bodily fluids. Who knows what's on those things, man? Yeah. When the penny sleeve is sticking to the card, it's like, like, this has been in here for twenty years. Like, get it out.
Get it fresh. Or a yellow top loader or just a discolored top loader at all. Like, what are we doing? Can't throw that stuff away fast enough. Can't rip it out of the eBay authentication fast enough.
Do... Have you ever had to get, like, scissors out and, like, cut some, like, plastic off? Because it's, like, in a... That happened to me recently. I...
Where I just, like... It was, like, the packing and everything else. And I was, like, kinda concerned about the card. I was, like, very strategic, but I needed to, like... And I felt like I was, like, on a rescue mission.
I'm like, yes. I appreciate a good pack job, but, like, there's also going too far. No. I I mean, I've had one recently where, like, the penny sleeve was, like, so stuck to the front of the card that I couldn't, like, push it out from the bottom, so I had to cut off the side of the penny sleeve and peel it back. Yeah.
It's just they did surgery on a grape is what it felt like where I'm out here. Need a, like, Boston's robotics machine to get these cards out of the penny sleeves. Cool. Next up, from Bolt Card Crew. Can you discuss your thoughts on why football card collectors don't collect more hall of famers?
This is a this is a very broad stroked question, and I tried to give my best answer. And I think it I think it appears that... This is the only thing I come up with. I think it appears in football that there's more team collectors as opposed to basketball, for instance. And I think that leaves less opportunity when you've got team collectors to collect hall of fame type players that aren't on your team.
So that's the only thing I could come up with because I don't know. I don't know. Like, we view, like, what we see through, like, certain silos, and then we try to contrast that with sales data sometimes. And I don't know if... I don't know.
I see plenty of hall of fame players collect, but if you're feeling that, that's the only thing that I could kinda come up with. Do you have something better? Yeah. I was trying to grasp this one. I think maybe it's hitting on, like, even us rattling off hall of famers during big ugly autumn.
Like, you don't see a lot of players... People collecting Larry Allen or Trent Williams or or some of these guys. And so I think it's it's still very much a QB driven market, football cards is. So, like, maybe that's what he's getting at. It's like, why aren't people collecting Chris Carter?
Why aren't people collecting Curtis Martin? Not saying people do not collect them, but they seem maybe more overlooked compared to basketball hall of famers. Maybe because position is so, like, segmented in football or so differentiated in football, whereas in basketball, it doesn't matter as much. I mean, I know there's the whole no one collects centers and big men and all that, but I feel like that has changed a lot for the past couple years even from the modern with Wenbinama to seem like Shaq's market is going crazy. So I don't know.
I think that... Yeah. If he's saying... He's calling out football collectors, which to me opens it up to contrasting it with another sport collector like basketball. I think we've just seen that there are collectors of specific players, and basketball is just so much higher.
I keep thinking of, like, Keith Van Horn's highest selling card is probably tens of thousands of dollars, probably a green PMG, but then we're looking at these hall of fame linemen whose highest sale is $23,000. So, yeah, I don't know if I have really, like, a definitive answer. Or do I necessarily agree that, like, why don't football card collectors collect more hall of famers? I think they I think they do. But, yeah, I think it...
To your point, the team collecting is popular with football and, yeah, basketball's just different. They're just very different. The the only final note I can put on this is we... And we should do this at some point. It's like, all of the football hall of famers that are in Canton, like, a list, segment by position.
Mhmm. And I would imagine there are obviously gonna be a lot of quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, desirable positions to collect, but there's gonna be a lot of linemen, a lot of defensive players. And a lot of times, like, those guys might not have a a rich, robust catalog of cards. Just Mhmm. There are...
So we go through this every week or we'll go through, and we'll talk about these hall of fame players who have, like, hardly any cards because they were offensive linemen or defensive linemen. So I think that is probably another consideration. Yep. Okay. Next up from Drake's PC.
It's likely no secret that I've been moving some big pieces from my Peyton Manning collection. As part of that, people reach out and ask if other cards are available. When I tell them they are they are if they're willing to make an offer on anything, they typically respond with wanting an asking price or a ballpark. If something isn't for sale, but you may be open to moving it because someone asks about it, do you have some responsibility to give a price, or should it be completely up to the buyer to come with an offer? If the buyer won't make an offer, what do you do?
If some... Every time, if someone reaches out to me... Because this happens to all of us because we all have awesome cards. If someone reaches out to me, this happened... I'm not gonna talk...
Share... Disclose any information about the card or the individual. But this happened to me recently with a pretty big card in my collection. And there is absolutely zero chance. I'm not...
This card isn't for sale, but there's zero chance I'm giving a price on that card with the... Without the the individual who's asking for it or about it. They need to come with their offer because it's not for sale. So that's like a very, I think most of us have this rule. If the card...
Anything could be bought. We live in a world where anything could be bought. We all have cards that we love, but if somebody gives us the right number, we'd move those cards. It's like Ted DiBiase, Million Dollar Man. Everyone's got a price.
And that that is a very important factor. I feel like if you start to move off that, then you completely lose all your leverage as a card owner. So that's my position. I think that if someone approaches you out of the blue on a card because they see other activity happening that is not that card specifically, you tell them it is not for sale, but I'm willing to listen to your offer. Yeah.
So I said I said, anyone can make an offer at any time. Like, I can't stop you. You could send me a DM and say, I will give you x amount for that card. And that's totally fine because then responding to that requires little effort of me. If someone comes to my DMs and asks me to provide a price on something that I haven't advertised as for sale, You're now asking me to do work, which Mhmm.
I don't I don't wanna do that. Like, do you want an invoice? Like, you can't just you can't just slide into my DMs and give me a task that might take twenty, thirty plus minutes for me to comp. And then also, like, that... The whole part of negotiating is...
Or a large part of negotiating is who's gonna put a number out there first. Mhmm. Now all of a sudden, you're putting me in a position where I have to give you a number and giving you potential leverage in this whole situation over a card that I haven't even, like, shopped as for sale. Like, not happening. So for Drake, if people are doing that and you say, if the buyer won't make an offer, what do you do?
Just buy. Like, you don't have to do anything. Don't say anything to them. Like, carry on. I don't care, John.
It could be you reaching out to me, and I would say, see you later, pal. I don't... Like, there should be no sense of feeling bad or sorry when you do this because it's not for sale and it's not your car. End of story. And it makes...
Like, when I see this happening to me or people reaching out, the first thing I think about when I get that first DM is, like, does this actually work on other people? Like, that's... It must work on other people because why else would someone do it to you? And it's just I feel like it's an unwritten rule. Like, and I know, like, the hobby has many unwritten rules, but, like, this is a very important unwritten rule.
If you have a card that's not for sale, the individual who's interested in the card must make an offer on that card because it's not for sale. Yeah. And now on the other side of it, if I'm saying, if I'm posting onto my story, like, these cards are for sale, listening to offers. Like, if I'm putting it out there at all Yeah. That this stuff is for sale, then I understand if the person wants me to come with a price.
Because that that is somewhat annoying too where you see someone posting a card that's for sale Very annoying. Saying listening to offers. It's like, well, what are you trying to get? Like, you're the one kicking off this whole thing. Like, what do...
What are we trying to do here? So Great great point. I think if... You can do what you want on the sales side, but which I rarely do because I typically auction my cards because I don't wanna deal with this bullshit most of the time. But I...
The available thing, it's like, dude, you're... It's like, can you imagine walking into a card show and you going up to a showcase and you're looking down at the showcase and on every slab, there was a sticker that just said available. Like, come me an offer. Give me an offer. Come on.
So... Because then you're requiring the work to be done by the end. It's just... You get in that whole rigmarole. So I'm very...
I'm actually very anti the available disclaimer. I don't like it, because you're just you're just trying to be a magnet pulling people, and it's like, come with your price, put it at auction, or the card is not for sale. That's how I roll. Yep. Money talks.
Just cut to the chase. What do you wanna pay? What are you looking to get? Be open and communicate, and you'll get deals done quicker. Yep.
Okay. Good question. Strike. Yeah. As someone who collects other sports as well, how do you prioritize football versus other goals?
This is from raw card o two. This is kinda what I was getting at earlier where, I guess, he's talking about other collecting and how do you prioritize football versus other goals, and that's where I was talking about kind of the sliders and adjusting in that capacity. But do you have anything to add here or answer here? I think it's just for me, it's... It...
It's see... It it's seasonal, not seasonal based on what is playing, but it's just seasonal. Like, there are ebbs and flows with what I collect and the prices of stuff and what's available, and I'm just constantly, like, shift it. Like, I have been on a very big, over the last several months, big wrestling kick, but, like, I'll share it. Yesterday, I bought a football card that I'll share at the end.
It just, like, at this point in my collecting career, I am very much looking at value and being very, as I'm getting more into research and understanding and seeing potential avenues as these crazy sales are going on. Like, a lot of it has to do with value. Like, if there's a card that is available that I really like and I do research, regardless of what category it's in, I typically am more interested in that. So, yeah, it's seasonal. It's just...
I I don't have a hard and fast rule. I fee... Find that I tend to get really excited about one lane for a stretch and then move on and then come back. It's just this constantly ping ponging back and forth between what I'm buying. Yeah.
It ebbs and flows, and I don't think you ever have to, like, only buy stuff because you said... Or, like, making purchases because you've said that's what you do, like, in the past, and you feel like you can't pivot, I think is... Like, don't do that, I guess. Like, I... I'm purely always chasing what do I want in this moment.
Like, when I open my collection, if I'm, like, seeing a section that it's like, oh, this isn't... I don't like going through that part of my PC anymore or just, like, it's doing nothing for me, then get rid... Like, it can go. Like, any... Anything can go at any time and I'm...
Then I could make a move and filter that into something else. And then maybe I'll regret that I sold that stuff. But you know what? I made that decision. I'll live with it, and you just keep on going.
So I don't think that, like, if I... Me saying I'm a bears collector, a football collector, like, I'm never gonna only make decisions. It's like, oh, I'm... I've been vocal about that, so that means this next purchase I make has to be a bears card. It's like, no.
If the bears are pissing me off, then I'm not spending money on bears. I might be selling some bears, and instead, I'm chasing whatever is bringing me joy in any other lane, any other sport. So don't don't worry about what other people think, I guess, is also probably at the core of this. Because, like, some of this question right here is, like, maybe how you balance are struggling with... Like, like, if you're having an internal conflict of, like, oh, I I don't wanna buy this other card because I'm supposed to be buying football cards.
Like, says who? Buy whatever you want. If your gut is telling you to buy something besides a football card, go buy that. Like, you don't owe anyone anything. You can just...
You're just buying little pieces of cardboard to put in a box that light up the weird part of your brain. So just do that. Beautiful, man. I cosign all of it. Alright.
Couple more. One from Zipz cards. Obviously, there's hype on, quote, first year tops. How about last year, Panini? Yeah.
I've heard, some people talking about this. Time will tell. I I don't know. What I what I can say in the Football Card podcast is talking about the basketball card of it all, the Panini last year run. Like, basketball cards in the last year of Panini, the sets, what they did, it...
They knocked it out of the park. Like, they gave us a lot of sets that we hadn't seen in a while. The... They were putting game used material in silhouettes and other products, and they crushed it. And I bought some great cards last year on the basketball side that I still own, that I love.
Same camp... I don't think... I didn't have that same vibes or feeling with football. So I don't know. Like, to me, it's...
Will probably be more based on the products and sets that exist within that final year that collectors love or gravitate to as opposed to it just being the final year. But I could totally be wrong. That's just my reaction. Yeah. I'm...
I can't say which is, like, more hype on, first year tops last year, Puneet. I'm loving twenty twenty five. Like, as far as for me personally, the bears, Caleb Williams, that he's in... That I have Panini's last year and first year are both in 2025, and it's not Caleb's rookie year. So it's like stuff's more affordable, and I can kinda play in both worlds.
And, like, this is what Panini was doing with his second year card, and this is what Topps was doing with his second year card and kind of looking at those. So I don't know which is better or which is gonna have a more lasting impact, but I just think there is something fun about the overlap there. And even thinking back to 2012 where you've got 2012 Topps Chrome Superfactors that are awesome cards, but then you've also got twenty twelve first year Prism. There's something that's fun about the competing brands, overlapping. I wanna put myself in your shoes, and I don't do this often.
But I'm just gonna say, I am I am a fan of the Chicago Bears. Caleb Williams is my quarterback. I'm thrilled that he's my quarterback. I can see him taking us to win a Super Bowl. Looking at his card catalog, if he is the quarterback, which I'm sure this is what you want for the next ten years on the Chicago bears, if not more, you're going to look at that run, and you are going to see all tops cards.
You're gonna see all the sets with this and that. Then there's gonna be that Panini window, which is very, very small. And I know the rookie Panini stuff is going to be very hard to obtain because it's rookie, and it's rare and scarce and all those things. But, there's going to be, some other avenues that you can explore, which is the follow-up year, which is the last year. And to me, like, that stuff looks like an alien compared to all of this other stuff, and I want the alien cards because you fast forward ten years.
Like, people are gonna look at that and be like, what? Like, they had Panini Caleb Williams cards? And, like, to me, that's what excites me about collecting is going through those sorts of thought exercises. That's what... Yeah.
2025 specifically because Yes. Exactly what you're saying, the rookie stuff is overpriced. And there's a lot of, I don't know. I'm a big photo guy. And I have some Caleb Williams ones where the photos are underwhelming.
It's just him, like, standing still in the pocket, which he's he's becoming quite a pocket passer now. But I like the action shots, and you start to get more of that in 2025 and beyond, whereas his rookie year, there's a lot of kind of more stationary pictures. So... No. It's...
That era is so much fun. And then even this, like, 2026 tops, the flagship set. There's just, like, there's values. If all you want is some sort of representation of a player you're watching, you can... I can go out there and buy a $20 Cale Williams card that's pretty sick, like...
And and just be happy with it. So Mhmm. There's always something out there for everyone. Okay. And last up, from sports card struggles, Fandom versus your will to win is kinda the topic here.
In week three of the FCP pick em, only three people picked the Falcons to beat the Packers at Lambeau. I, a Falcons fan, was not one of those three. Week seven, 12 people picked the Falcons to beat the undefeated forty niners. Again, I was not one of those people. As much anguish as they cause me, I love the Falcons, but my desire to be competitive won't allow me to pick them to win when I don't think that they will.
Currently tied for fourth place in the league. If I had picked them to win both of those games, I would be in sole possession of second place. And if I blindly picked them to win every week, then I would be tied for thirteenth. I love I love the deep dive on the the standard. How do you all handle these internal conflicts assuming you have them?
This is a phenomenal pay of question. Yeah. Previously, I am an idiot. And in previous years, if I was doing this, I would let my fandom take over, and I would just probably pick the Colts to win most games because I couldn't look at myself in the mirror picking the Colts in a game or not picking the Colts in a game that they win. I've been there.
This year, it's a... It's... I'm just... I'm a realist. Like, it's very evident.
So it's been easy for me because we suck so bad that I... It's... I've I've... I've... I I can't I can't...
I'd have to look at it. Maybe I'm like, how many weeks have we played so far? Seven. Seven? I probably picked the Colts to win four and picked them to lose three, and that there's gonna be a lot more picking them to lose coming up.
Yeah. I've started to go by, like, blackjack rules more and more in different walks of life of, like, you... If there's kind of, like, a coin flip decision, like, you just have to commit to it. Like, do you hit on 16 or do you not hit on 16? Like, in fantasy football, anymore, I just get a defense, and I start them all year.
I'm done trying to, like, pick and choose based on matchups because just trying to catch that, it doesn't work out. So, like, I just have some hard and fast rules and pick them specifically where I'm picking the bears every week, just straight up picking the bears every week, and then I've also picked the packers every week. Because if the packers win, I get a point. And if they lose, I'm like, okay, I'm fine sacrificing that point. The Packers lost.
So I just... You just gotta pick it and commit. Like, either be a Falcons fan, I pick them every single time, or try and, like, play the game and, you know, you might end up a little ahead or you might end up behind. But, yeah, I don't know. I just like...
It's easier on me to just, like, pick something and stick to it versus trying to chase the different possible outcomes in pursuit of perfection. Just because over the course of the season, you'll... Except, I guess, like, the Falcons are in a different spot where... Like, I'm I'm expecting the Bears to win 10 plus games. I I don't know about...
So, like, I'm okay if over the course of the season, I go ten and six by following that Yeah. Logic. Yeah. I like it. A team that's maybe over under win total is four and a half, five and a half, six and a half.
It's... Yeah. Okay. Don't listen to that advice. So...
But I don't know. Okay. Great questions, everybody. Had a couple more come in late that I just went ahead and put on for next week too. So we will get to more of those next week if you didn't hear your question asked this week.
Alright. NFL check-in. We kinda hit I'm checked in, pal. Colts at the top. Anything else from around the league?
You let's see. What else do I wanna comment on? Not... Yeah. I was I was a little...
I mean, the Seahawks, man. That team is... I know you're playing this week, but it's a damn good team. I was very... I thought that game against the Chiefs was gonna be more competitive, but it...
I mean, muzzled was the offense of the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes needs help, man. And he just he need... Guys, he he needs help. It's like every...
It feels like every year we we go through this with him, and it's just like... It amazes me. It's like, how can they not have, like, a premium w r number one or even consider that? Like, that's a... Yeah.
It's very evident that he needs help in the pass catching department. Kelsey's getting older. Guys are dropping balls. So that was, the Seahawks, man. They just continue to be resilient, and they're they're very good, well rounded football team.
Yeah. I'm very, not scared, but the Bears going into, Seattle. Monday night is gonna be quite the matchup, and they just got big Q, Quintin Nelson from from your Colts to just plug in on that offensive line. Great great value add for them as they look for another Super Bowl. But I'm feeling...
I feel good about the bears. I mean, I... It's Answers are you're playing again. This is the one of two matchups. And if the...
If you're looking at the odds and how things shake out, I would imagine this will be another matchup. This could be a playoff, preview, but I I still, like, struggle with fully believing or, like, going all in because then my heart gets ripped out. That's just how it goes in in my history, but it's like the in the matrix where Morpheus is like, he's starting to believe. That's how I feel where I'm like, oh my god. This is...
Is this gonna be Caleb and Ben Johnson for the next ten years? Am I really about to enter, like, this this world where the bears are just... Have a good offense for the foreseeable future, which is what it feels like, which is just a foreign feeling. I don't I don't know how to react to it. I'm looking back at some past seasons when Kyle Orton led the team with 10 passing touchdowns in 2005.
Just went through some terrible, terrible years. So to watch a team that's like a contender that beaten the patriots like that on Thursday, where they just kinda dominated them, wire to wire... Not dominated, but they just got the lead and held it. It it wasn't like, oh, the bears snuck away with a win or, like, lucked out. They kinda This team's just...
I don't know. Ben Johnson changed my life. I'm just very happy to be a Bears fan right now. So... But gotta keep it on early in the season.
The only problem with being a Bears fan right now is that division is so damn competitive, dude. It's so good. The Vikings are scary. I... Even though I still think the Vikings are kind of...
I don't know. I'm not fully on them being, like, amazing. As... Okay. So we obviously lost to the Vikings last week.
And as I'm watching it, you know, Brian Flores, that defense is insane. You know, they're blitzing everyone, like, every play, basically. And it's like... There's the whole time, I'm like, we're completely incompetent. Of course, we don't know how to solve this.
But the whole time I'm watching this game because their offense isn't isn't that. Their No. Offense is... It's okay. It's...
They're they're they're serviceable. But, like, I'm just like, there's gotta be an offensive coordinator around here who who can watch what they're doing every week and figure... I think it's a personnel thing. Like, it's like if you have certain personnel, you can probably take advantage of this, defense in this blitz package and the the disguising that they're doing. That that was my read in watching them play.
They're good, but I'm like, I'm interested to see, like, a big, high powered offense that can counter the Flores blitz packages. And their schedule gets tough here over the next few weeks, so we'll see what they're made of. But even the Bears game that was in a monsoon, Deandre Swift fumbled at the one yard line first and goal. Caleb Williams pulled up with a hammy during a first and goal at the five. Like, they they had 300 yards of offense on Flores.
It was just turnovers within the... Two turnovers within the five yard line because then they got a field goal blocked on the series that... So it's like all that to say the bears were right there to put up 17 to 20 points on them. So I don't know. I'm not I'm not scared of the Vikings.
The lions, I think, have a chip on their shoulder still against Ben Johnson. I think the Packers... I'm not scared of the Packers. They they beat the Bears because they had ten months to think about getting bounced out of the playoffs. That was their big revenge game, and they took it out on Tyson Baden.
That's totally fine. I'm ready for the rematch on Christmas Day. That's just gonna be as... The most stressful Christmas there can be. You know, you're supposed to wake up Christmas morning, and it's all joy and love, and let's cuddle up by the fire, open presents, and I'm dad's gonna be on one on Christmas day.
So I'm ready for it, though. That's gonna be a great game. Other NFL... The Rams. Rams are in trouble.
I mean Trouble train. That's that's something. And Josh Allen and the Bills, still love Josh Allen and the Bills. Raider Nation, I'm ready for Fernando. Even though Kirk Cousins is kinda balling.
A lot of it's garbage time, but there's some other interesting storylines around the league. This is an observation I had. And all the analytics, members of the analytics department who who listen to this can correct me if I'm wrong, but watching a football, dude. The quarterback play, what is happening now is just... It doesn't hold a candle to what we had.
And these guys that we had in the two thousand to two thousand ten era, was that the prime quarterback play of our life? Like, you got Manning, Brady, Brees, Rivers, Roethlisberger, Eli Manning even. Like, dude, these guys, Rodgers, like, these guys were just crushing it every week, and it was like we became so accustomed to watching perfection from a multitude of players and teams. And now I sit there and watch the games, and I love a good defensive struggle for sure. But, like, the quarterbacks across the board, it's just...
It... It's it's nowhere near the... In the same hemisphere as it was. That's that's my response right now. Our defense is better.
That's a whole other thing. They could. They they... Potentially. Potentially.
I think defense is better. But there is something about... Like, even Mahomes, like, watching Yeah. Not great Patrick Mahomes. Over the last few seasons.
Like, twenty twenty three, Patrick Mahomes, 27 touchdowns, 14 picks. Twenty twenty four, 26 touchdowns, 11 picks. Twenty twenty five, 22 touchdowns, 11 picks. Like, those are kind of pedestrian quarterback numbers. Not saying he's not great and hasn't accomplished a lot, but I think back to that era where Manning was winning 13 games no matter who was around him and throwing for 35 touchdowns That's what I'm saying.
And 5,000 yards. Same thing with Brees. Like Look at Rogers look at Rogers' numbers. Rogers' numbers are insane. And it was like their teams were changing all the time too.
Like, how many times did I watch Brady with just, like, random ass wide receivers? Bethel Johnson? Yeah. Just, like, going off. Like, never had a running game or running back that was really solid and just like a rotating cast of some white slot receivers and some other, like, random wide out.
Like, I don't know. It just... That that quarterback was able to kinda bring that... If you had one of those guys, you're winning 10 games and, like, go into the playoffs where now seeing, yeah, Mahomes struggle, even seeing... I don't know who else is out there.
Like, Burrow, I guess the Bengals are doing... They had a big win, a big comeback win over the Ravens. That division, the AFC North, the Browns, five and two. Browns. Who would have thought?
But... Yeah. No. I agree. The Drake May and Caleb Williams, though, that was a fun...
Drake May is sick. That too. I I tip my cap to Drake May. He was, I don't know. He was balling out during that game.
He's sick, but he's not perfect. There was a... Those quarterbacks in the other era were perfect. Yes. You know what I mean?
They, like, they were... They, of course, they made mistakes, but, like, they have the track record. Like, go look at Drew Brees's career. Look at his career numbers. And it's insane, and it's like, no one's talking about buying Drew Brees football cards.
We're talking about buying Jackson Dart football cards. It's like it's beyond... It's bed bath and beyond. Yeah. Even, like, Eli.
I'm pulling up Eli's stats. Like, Eli's stats were better than Mahomes last three seasons. They're very comparable, some of his years. Yeah. Eli, twenty fifteen, 35 touchdowns, 14 picks.
Yeah. I don't know. Well, it's a new day. 40 line get dead use. Yeah.
Okay. Let's get into some sales. Okay. Let's hit some sales. We have an all time high.
All you Brady fans who've just been waiting for us to talk about a Tom Brady sale, here's the one. This was Fanatics Premier two thousand e x. Brady, a central credential future out of 25 in a PSA nine. Hits an all time high, selling for a $186,000. This is a pop six.
The last sale, of this card, not the last sale, but the highest sale was in 2022 at a 180. So this is the sweatpants, practice jersey card, but very identifiable card when you look at the Brady rookie catalog. Yeah. I mean, very cool card time and place. Just ascent...
Like, this is kinda what you're talking about where looking back and seeing, like, in ten years, like, oh, Caleb Williams had Panini stuff. Like, Tom Brady had an essential credentials. It's always kinda interesting to see from two thousand e x. Not the best e x design or, credentials design in my mind, but it's still iconic. And even in the red jersey with the sweatpants, I don't know.
There's... It's, like, so obviously Mhmm. Practice gear and, like, not game gear that I kinda like it. Like, it... It's so far that way that it...
To me, it becomes amusing and entertaining versus, being distracting. Like, I'd... A 100 times out of a 100 times rather have this than, like, combine photos or something where it's like, oh, no. He's got... I'm seeing Patriots logos all over the place.
He's got a Pat's logo on the sweatpants, on the jersey, on the helmet. This card's sick. Well, I feel like when I look at this card, I... Like, looking at old, film of Brady and his rookie, I feel like they had, like, six or seven quarterbacks that they were like... And, you know, maybe only three were gonna make the team.
And they're all, like, in this long line at practice. And I just, like, every time I see this card, I I think about that. But I think what's cool about Brady rookies in this card specifically, especially him being in sweatpants, it's like he's not supposed to be anything, you know, but he is. And this card's over 186,000. Yeah.
That too. The... It's like a reminder of all the dominoes that had to fall for Brady to become Brady where not just Bledsoe getting injured, but him making the, like, roster. Because, like, there was, like, five of them during, like, training camp and all that. There was...
They had a lot of quarterbacks, and he, like, barely, you know, made it as the third string or fourth string, and then injuries happened, and he got his shot, which is... I don't know. It's crazy to always think about a career like that and what kicked it off. Alright. We're entering the Kaboom room.
We've got the twenty nineteen absolute Kaboom gold Patrick Mahomes out of 10, and a BGS 10 selling at Fanatics Premier for a 156,000. I should remark, we have one of those stickers on the card. So for those who track the NBA stickers of it all, there's a sticker there, but this is the the... This is the highest this car... Card has ever sold.
A, a non stickered, which I would imagine this is probably the same card, a BGS 10. Or maybe not. It's a pop two. There's two BB g s tens, but a non stickered one sold for a 150 k in, July. So if you are interested in the sticker of it all, you can maybe run some ratios based on these two sales.
I don't think I'll ever be a sticker guy, but what do you what do you think about it? I mean, the card is sick. I... I'm a big fan of these cards. I don't...
I can't buy them, but, I mean, this looks cool, cool pose. I like kabooms. I like gold numbered cards. So this, like, checks all the boxes for me. And the more I was just thinking now about how...
I was talking about how Mahomes has been underwhelming, I feel like that's... Just like when I start to believe in the bears, something bad happens, like, if you start to fully be like, ah, Mahomes is washed is when the Chiefs are gonna go on some insane run and win another Super Bowl. And it'll be like, wow. Shoulda saw that coming. I mean, that happened how many times with Brady where it felt like, oh, he's done.
He's not gonna get another. And then all of a sudden, they just put it all together. So I would never bet against Mahomes. So I don't know. I'm not looking at other sales and other charts.
Like, is now the time to buy Mahomes? I don't know. But, awesome card. Much like I said, the bears and the Seahawks are probably on a path to another matchup after this Monday. I would...
Like, if I had to bet on something, I would imagine we're going to see Patrick Mahomes versus Josh Allen in the playoffs. Like, I think that'll happen. And then if that happens, it feels like Allen has all the momentum and upward trajectory and Mahomes is in All the pressure's on Allen. Yeah. All the...
And it's, like, so weird to say that when the Chiefs... Did they just lose their first game? Were they undefeated before that loss just now? I think so. Yeah.
Yeah. Or were they... Yeah. They're five and one. So...
Yeah. I I They're gonna be... Because they... They've been... They've played bad games in pedestrian, and their record hasn't been as good as it is now.
Their record's very good. So they're they're gonna be just fine. Yeah. So we'll see. But, yeah, that'll be...
I'm ready for that matchup. We've got, the o eight Topps Chrome Superfractor, Peyton Manning, one of one b g s eight five. This was in the collection of our good friend, Drake, at Drake's PC. Congrats, Drake. $58,800 on this Manning sale.
This card definitely sold before, and, wow, Drake bought it for 17,400. Wow. So So that's a pretty good... That's that's that's what you call taking money off the table. Yeah.
A little 41 k in three years appreciation. Not bad. Not bad at all for an awesome card. I mean, o eight, iconic looking year, I feel like. Especially too because of the consistency with basketball with, like, the team letters and the circles.
Just the o eight is very recognizable every time you see it. And seeing a Peyton Colt super factor is rare for Topps Chrome. So this is an awesome card. Alright. We move over to this one I was watching actually on Fanatics.
I was like, I kept watching because I was what... I've been... Not that I've been interested in buying Purdy cards, but I'm interested in following Purdy's market right now because I think he's great and he's playing well. The 2025 last year, finite of Purdy one of one and a PSA 10 sold on FedEx Weekly for 24 k, which I thought that was a monster sale, but he's good. Like, if I'm talking about good quarterbacks in the NFL, he's in the conversation.
So, yeah. Really cool card. Yeah. This... I love 2025 prism.
Twenty twenty five prism is so good. The design's awesome. The team logo, the colors throughout, just such a good card. And what an awesome photo. Like, everything about this card rules.
And Purdy's... Purdy is legit. I know I maybe... I didn't slander Purdy ever. I just said I didn't fully champion him or believe yet, but he's awesome.
Just like watching him play, he's moving around. He's making moves. The niners have, I mean, a ton of injuries. Like, last week wasn't his greatest game, but this guy is a baller. This sale, I thought, was interesting.
We got the twenty seventeen Russ Wilson finite one of one in a ESA nine. So you've got a player that exists. One of two players, Matthew Stafford's the other one. 2012 to 2025, a... They have a prism card in every year.
I believe Russ does because on the last year, is he on the Giants? Neither neither here nor there. But I... With a large catalog of finance, I still found it interesting that this card sold for $12,600 in this moment where it's like he's done. There's questions about him being a hall of famer or not.
So I thought that was a very strong sale for this card in this moment. Alright. Here's a question. Would you rather have this card plus $12,000 or the Purdy 2025 finite? Purdy.
I'm a I'm a I'm a fan, dude. I'm a fan of him. I'm already with a Super Bowl win. He's here in Seahawks game. Like Russell Wilson.
Was it the high knees on the plane, the subway commercial? It's everything. I mean, he kinda lost me when he went to Denver. Yeah. Yeah.
But the the per... Yeah. That's a good question, though. I... Yeah.
I... To me, though, like, it would be fun to have, like, a statement piece of an active player who I believe in, who I think can do great things, and I believe in that Purdy. That most of the time, I'm taking the cash in the other card of the retired guy, but Russell Wilson, I think, will always be battling, like, could he have done this without that defense? Yeah. Yeah.
I don't know. I think I don't wanna discount him, but I think history will be kind to Russ. Okay. I think when you look at his numbers, even when we're talking about that heyday of quarterbacks, like, Russ had some, like, two... Twenty seventeen.
So this year, he had 34 touchdowns, 11 picks. The next year, 35 touchdowns, seven picks. The next year, 31 touchdowns, five picks the next year, 40 touchdowns, 13 picks. Yeah. And, like, the Seahawks were winning 12 games every single year.
I mean, I know the defense carried him to that early one, but I don't know. He had some he had some big seasons after that. So... I was on someone's podcast. I remember it was a card podcast, and they asked me, like, just off the cuff, like, who are the three best quarterbacks in the NFL?
And this is when he was on Seattle. This is early on. This is, like, like, early in me being back in the cards. And I remember referencing Russell Wilson. So I I thought very highly of him at a time, and I just don't as much right now.
Not saying he's not a great player, but I I I don't know. I like watching Purdy play quite a bit. So that's why I picked Purdy. I remember I wanted the Bears to get Russ so bad when he was a free agent. And, like, there's rumors that they offered a few first rounds, but, like, Denver came stronger, which hindsight, glad it didn't happen.
But, yeah, for a second for a second, Russ was hooping. Broncos country? That's right. Alright. Addition you put in here at the end, 94 tops finest, Jerry Rice, refractor, PSA 10, pop, eight.
Good lordy. This thing must go for 20,100, and the previous high sale was in October '25 for 3,800. So talk about a come up. Yeah. Over five x'd.
So mostly soccer cards sent a question, said, what in the world happened with the 94 finest Jerry Rice refractor PSA 10 sale for $20,000. Is that temporary insanity or the new normal? Yeah. This is a huge sale. Just even seeing that the last one was around 4 k, so what you five x ed in a year.
And, I mean, pop eight. So New normal. New normal for this card. It has the... Just looking at it, it has Mhmm.
It has everything. Because of the first year of it all, the PSA 10 in a car like this only pop eight. I would imagine there's enough people with money that are gonna... They probably want this card more now that they saw that it sold for 20,000. You know?
Yeah. Like, if another one popped up right away, I bet it'd sell, like, comparable. I don't think it's Comparable right away. Even more. But, yeah, eight...
The pop eight, you can't deny that. These cards are very hard to grade, so there is really something interesting going on here. But I don't think it's an anomaly because I think it's not like the market's gonna get flooded with these, and we're gonna see it come crashing down. It's an amazing football card as well just looking at it and knowing the history and what this started. It's just...
There's... The the... I love this... The the font of finest in the upper at the top. It's it's so definitive, and it's it just reminds me of, like, font in the nineties.
So I... I'm a big fan of this. But when you added this and I started to, like, investigate it, I was like, I get that sale. That was my reaction. Yeah.
I... And I just... I love finest. And I love that calling it... Like, I love on the label that it's finest, not top's finest.
I love Mhmm. Like, that's just another little something that I... I've always enjoyed about finest. Alright. Good sales, collecting updates.
What are the current collecting projects that you're focusing your resources on? Any pickups in I do. I I actually... I I picked up a card that I found on eBay. Just stumbled across it.
Oh. And this is the, the power of the power of research and investigation. So the card I bought was the 2,005 tops turkey red Philip Rivers one of one. In my race, I looked at the card, and I was like, this is an incredible card. Wood, borders, found out that this was the first...
They did two years of Topps Turkey Red. It's the first year that they did it. Rivers' second year, he had not played yet because he was back behind Breeze, and just the more of... I... The more I started research, the more I fell in love with the card.
I favorited the card. I was like, I'm gonna sleep on this. Then I woke up, and I kept thinking about it. Then I recorded with Chris and Josh. Go check out that episode of Card Ladder Confidential, which will be out.
But during that episode, when we started, the whole episode we did was on one of ones. And I referenced the card, opened up my eBay, had an offer on the card, and I ended up buying the card while I was recording with them because I was like, this is meant to be. So excited about that. But, like, that's kind of where I'm going, I think. It is finding these cool cards and these rare sets, not not having to pay an arm and a leg.
Rivers is... Rivers, he's awesome. Like, back to these play... Quarterbacks of this era. I'm like, man, I can get this card for well under a thousand dollars, and I feel really good about it.
So that was a pickup. I haven't bought a football card in a while, so I'm excited to get back on the train. Is it like the like the wood wood border? Yeah. Let me...
I'll, I'll pull it up on my app here. Purchases. So here's the card. Oh, I think I found it on card. Yeah.
Found it? This is... Yeah. The wood wood border one zero one. Yeah.
Yeah. Just Those are sick. Dude, it's like a portrait shot. Like, I was like, this is one of the cooler. And it just says River San Diego at the bottom nameplate, and I...
Dude, I see it so much research. Obviously, this inspiration from the tobacco sets. And I just like the short window. I like two years, first year. The more I research, the more I fell in love with it.
Yeah. I have some turkey red saved searches for priest homes. And I have... I think it's gold out of 50. They just look awesome.
They're just so... Like, they're little pieces of art, so that's a great, great pickup. Thank you. I refer... I bought a finest black geometric Luther Burton that's out for delivery right now.
So Nice. If that shows up. But that's kinda the first thing in a while I'm still paying off that Priest Holmes. All my auctions ended. I was where I wanted to be.
So that's... We made it work, and that's currently at grading. I cannot wait to get that card home. But, yeah, that's that's it on my end. Alright.
Card call out. Last week, inserts. This week. Any ideas? Any ideas?
I've got an idea. What do you got? I want to see your cards of quarterbacks, and they have to have played from 2000 to 2010. Quarterback, I wanna relive that era through your collection. Let me see your Mannings, your Bradys, your Breeze, your Rodgers, but it doesn't need to be exclusive to that.
If there was a quarterback that you collect that fires you up from that era, let's bring back some of these old sets and check out these cards. So the the set needs to be from 2000 to 2000 to '10. Okay. So quarterbacks in sets from '20... 2000 to 2010.
Yep. Oh, that... That's a good... We can run with that too with, like, we can do other positions, other years. That's a good little wrinkle.
Good call. Okay. So quarterbacks and sets two thousand two thousand ten. Post them on Instagram. Tag the Football Card Pod in your story.
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