22 Items From Emmitt Smith’s Personal Collection Head to Auction
A variety of iconic items from Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith’s personal collection are headed to auction to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest NFL seasons of all time.
Set to start on Feb. 2, the auction is a collaboration between eBay and Notable Live, a platform that offers fan experiences with players and teams. Smith co-founded Notable Live in 2018 with current CEO Mike Antonucci.
The auction features 22 items from Smith’s collection that stretch from high school to the 1993-1994 season where he led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl victory while winning Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP.
According to Smith, while many of the items bring back great memories, they could have more value to a fan.
“It’s fun memories for me, but for someone else, it can be a conversational piece,” Smith told Sports Illustrated. “They will probably enjoy it a lot more than I would just having it in a storage room.”
Highlights from the auction include a touchdown ball carried by Smith during Super Bowl XXVIII — he won Super Bowl MVP while rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns. There’s also a game-used helmet Smith wore in high school as well as the last jersey he wore at the University of Florida.
Smith says his father encouraged him to hold onto items before his rookie season with the Cowboys in 1990. Smith’s mother also held onto items from before his time in the NFL.
Those actions led to Smith holding onto items from important moments over the years, and now he says he’s aware of how important some items can be to the collecting community.
“I try to remain humble in terms of how valuable my items are and how important it is to others to collect them,” Smith said. “I tried to create scarcity through what I’ve been able to do while archiving and collecting my game-worn items and everything else.”
For Notable Live, the collaboration with eBay to deliver some of Smith’s items to fans seems like a natural fit. Game-used items have always been a popular way for fans to feel closer to their favorite players and items from that player’s personal collection could be even better.
“We are excited to celebrate Emmitt’s career milestones by offering one-of-a-kind items to fans,
exclusively on eBay,” Antonucci said in a statement. “We are thrilled to mark these moments in football history with these incredibly unique items available directly from Emmitt so fans can have a piece of authentic history to call their own.”
Smith says that the process for selecting the 22 items wasn’t difficult. He and the Notable Live team went through items that would make sense to celebrate this Super Bowl anniversary while Smith held veto power over which items could be included.
He also understands that items from his final Super Bowl appearance could hold additional value to many collectors. Despite the extreme popularity that Dallas has nationwide, the Cowboys haven’t been to a Super Bowl since Smith, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin led the team in 1995.
He knows the touchdown ball from that win over Pittsburgh is special compared to other items.
“It’s the last time the Cowboys were in one and the next time the Cowboys go into one it’s going to make these items more valuable, in my opinion,” Smith said. “It’s the last Super Bowl that I played in, it’s the last Super Bowl Troy Aikman played in and Michael Irvin played in. It might not be the last Cowboys Super Bowl, but it’s the last one The Triplets ever played in.”
