Kirk Cousins Owns the Buccaneers, You Can Own Cousins!
Kirk Cousins has played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice so far this season, and in those two games he has thrown for 785 yards and eight touchdowns. In the fantasy football world, spike weeks like these are essential to winning your best ball league. In the hobby world, spike weeks often inspire the purchase of that player’s cards.
The 13 year veteran quarterback has no shortage of cards to choose from. From his college days at Michigan State to his brand new 2024 Falcons cards, there are a lot of options.
Here are 5 of my favorites for your consideration.
1. 2012 Upper Deck SP Authentic Auto Relic
Cousins finished his career at Michigan State as the all-time leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, completions, efficiency and total offense. Michigan State fans can pick up a rookie auto relic of Cousins from the 2012 SP Authentic set for about $50. The card shows Cousins in his home green jersey and includes a piece of player worn material as well as an on-card autograph.
2. 2012 Panini Prizm #277
No player collection is complete without a rookie card in their first pro uniform. Panini Prizm football made its debut in 2012 and provided one of the first opportunities to get a Cousins rookie in full Redskins gear. The combination of photo, team logo, rookie logo and being from the first year of Prizm make this card a must have in my opinion.
3. 2018 Panini Origins #4
In March of 2018, Kirk Cousins signed a three-year, 84 million dollar contract with the Minnesota Vikings making him the highest paid player in NFL history. He had just come off a three year run of 4,000 yard seasons where he threw an average of 27 touchdowns per year. The color matched artistic design of the card along with its think premium card stock make this one of my favorite Cousins base cards. This card can be picked up for about $2.
4. 2012 Prizm Gold #277
The first three cards in the list are all super affordable, however some Cousins cards can get pricey. For collectors who are willing to “spend up”, I present the 2012 Panini Prizm Gold Parallel. The base version of this card I included above sells for about $15. This very popular gold prizm parallel is limited to 10 copies and one recently sold for about $5,000 in August of 2024 according to CardLadder.com. If you like the shiny chromium cards and have an extra five racks laying around, this is a great option.
5. 2024 Panini Luminance Animation #ANI-KCS
With the 2024 football release schedule just starting to roll out, there are only a handful of cards to choose from if you want a Cousins card in an Atlanta Falcons jersey. The 2024 Panini Luminance Animation Insert card is one option that adds a little bit of scarcity to the mix. These “comic style” Animation insert cards fall about one per case. So while not overly rare, they aren’t exactly easy to pull. Recent sales have ranged from about $78-$140 according to CardLadder.com data.
Mike Sommer is a lifelong collector who has a passion for teaching others how to have a self-sustaining hobby. You can find more from him at WaxPackHero.com, Hobby News Daily, and on the WaxPackHero Sports Card Minute podcast.