Ninety-nine cents. That's it. That's all you would've needed back in late December to pick up one of Yogi Ferrell's 2016 Contenders Draft Picks Basketball autograph cards. Heck, you would've had to spend three times that just to have the card shipped to you. Back then, of course, Ferrell was an undrafted project with seemingly no clear path to the NBA, despite being Indiana University's all-time assists leader.
Ninety-nine cents. That’s it. That’s all you would’ve needed back in late December to pick up one of Yogi Ferrell’s 2016 Contenders Draft Picks Basketball autograph cards. Heck, you would’ve had to spend three times that just to have the card shipped to you. Back then, of course, Ferrell was an undrafted project with seemingly no clear path to the NBA, despite being Indiana University’s all-time assists leader.
By late December, Ferrell already had been waived twice by the Brooklyn Nets. Six long weeks later, he signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. All the diminutive point guard did with that third opportunity was help lead the Mavericks on a four-game winning streak, highlighted by a 32-point outburst last Friday against Portland that sent Yogi Mania into a full-blown frenzy.
Yesterday, on the same day that Ferrell signed a well-earned multiyear contract with the Mavericks, one of his 2016 Contenders Draft Picks Basketball autographs sold for more than $51. For the record, that’s a 5,000 percent increase over those late-December steal prices. A quick eBay search of completed sale prices reveals many other cards closing for between $40 and $62 — for a card you could’ve gotten six weeks ago for 99 CENTS!
Yogi Mania certainly impacted the sale of this 2016 National Treasures Collegiate Basketball Autograph Patch card limited to five that sold on the last day of January for a whopping $350. As it stands right now, Ferrell has autograph trading cards in just those two Panini America collegiate basketball releases. His first NBA card arrived earlier this week on Panini Instant and almost instantly became one of the most popular Instant cards of the NBA season.
In the weeks ahead, Yogi Mania is sure to continue, working wonders on what few autograph options exist right now. In the meantime, Panini America NBA product developers are planning for Ferrell’s first NBA autograph cards to arrive in the late-March release of 2016-17 Donruss Optic Basketball.
Stay tuned . . .
Wow. Gotta search my collection to make sure he isn’t hiding .
This is why I hold onto rookies, you just never know
It’s worth that much because you didn’t overprint or saturate the market with his autos yet. Don’t ruin it.
12 months from now you’ll be able to pick him up for 99c again
Another in a long line of poor choices by “my” Nets. I was watching when he took the court for the first time in his career, at least.
I bet basketball collectors are scurrying to their pic-a-nic baskets as we speak to check if they have any of his autos. Thanks Tracy!
I always ask customers, “Why are you in such a hurry to sell an autographed RC for a buck or two. Keep it for a while and see what happens.”
With the release of 2010-11 National Treasures Basketball, a customer pulled a Jeremy Lin Auto Jersey Patch RC #d/25. He pushed me to make him and offer. I told him I could only offer $15 at the time and I tried to convince him to keep the card. Soon after that he sold it to someone else.
Less than a year later, it was selling on eBay for $2500.