Big Blue’s Big Mistake: The Rise and Fall of Daniel Jones’ Career and Cards
Daniel Jones’ tenure as the New York Giants quarterback has been defined by underperformance, locker room dysfunction, and the organization’s inability to foster a winning culture. His lack of development and the Giants’ questionable decision-making have caused his sports cards and memorabilia to lose significant value.
The tenure of Daniel Jones as the New York Giants quarterback has been a long and frustrating saga for both fans and collectors alike, and on Friday, November 22nd 2024, that saga has officially come to an end.
Since being selected 6th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, a decision widely considered a reach (in my opinion the Giants could have traded down or even into the mid-2nd Round and I don’t think the other teams in the league would have cared). With that said, Jones has consistently underwhelmed the New York Giants fanbase.
Despite flashes of athleticism and occasional big plays, his overall career has been defined by inconsistency, turnovers, and an inability to lead the Giants back to being the once feared team that they were in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Statistically, Jones has never established himself as a reliable NFL starter. His rookie season was marred by a staggering 18 fumbles, and while he showed some promise with 24 touchdown passes, his development stalled in subsequent years. Injuries, poor decision-making, and a knack for critical mistakes in big moments have made him more of a liability rather than an asset. As of 2024, Jones has yet to post a single season that would justify the faith the Giants placed in him.
The Giants’ decision to extend Jones, including a four-year, $160 million contract in 2023, has compounded their problems. Instead of providing clarity at the quarterback position, the extension has become an albatross, limiting the team's ability to address other roster deficiencies. Fans have grown increasingly frustrated with the front office's mismanagement, and the team's continued mediocrity has made it clear that Jones is not the franchise quarterback the Giants hoped for.
Impact on the Hobby
As Jones’ struggles have regularly continued throughout his career, interest in his collectibles dwindled. Today, his cards are often found in discount bins or as throw-ins in larger deals, which are a far cry from the values associated with elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow. Here’s a price performance chart that demonstrates the significant drop in value that his 2019 Panini Prizm Rookie Auto #302 has seen since 2022.
Based on the data within the chart below, we can see that on January 30 2021 the average value of the card was roughly $179. On September 4th 2021, the card would see its highest value of roughly $475 and after some highly erratic behavior over the last three years, recent sales as of November 16th 2024 would demonstate a valuation of just $25.
His lack of collegiate success at Duke, a program not exactly known for producing NFL-caliber quarterbacks, should have been an immediate red flag. As I’ve told friends and colleagues repeatedly, Duke isn’t where you go shopping for a franchise quarterback. Their mediocre-at-best football program does little to prepare players for the rigors of the NFL, and Jones has done little to change that narrative.
For collectors, Jones serves as a simply cautionary tale: one's athletic traits and high draft status alone don’t guarantee even the slightest of success in the NFL. Collectors seeking long-term value would be wise to avoid players like Jones and focus on quarterbacks with a proven track record, strong organizational support, and a winning mentality, hence why I’m collecting on such names as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and even Justin Herbert, just to name a few.
Bio: Matt Schilling, a lifelong sportscard collector and a proud graduate of Towson University (Class of 2006) who currently resides in Queens, New York, is one of the newest contributing authors to the Collectibles segment now featured on http://SI.com