The Most Expensive Barry Sanders Cards: The Script Has Flipped
In the summer of 1998, Detroit Lions superstar Barry Sanders was coming off of a season where he rushed for over 2000 yards, and marked his third straight season with 11 rushing touchdowns. He was in the peak of his career. Little did we know, the upcoming 1998 season would be his last.
In June of that year, Beckett Football Card Monthly published a story outlining the top 20 most expensive Barry Sanders cards. The total cost to purchase those 20 cards was just over $11,000. Obviously, the value of those cards is significantly higher today, but that isn’t the story I want to tell in this article. What I want to highlight is how the ranking has shifted for some of those “top 20” cards over the last 26 years.
As a bit of a disclaimer, I want to mention that I realize the current values below don’t necessarily express a one for one comparison since the 1998 values were all based on ungraded cards and some of the 2025 comparisons required graded sales. However, I think we can still get some “directional” value out of the study.
#1 Select Certified Mirror Red Premium Stock #33
The #1 card on the 1998 list came in with a value of $1,200. While not a perfect comparison, a PSA 10 copy of this card recently sold for $17,700, putting it at 3rd on the current list.
1997 Black Diamond Gold
One of the biggest drops in value on a percentage basis came from the 1997 Upper Deck Black Diamond Gold. It was 18th on the list in 1998 with raw cards selling for about $300, but those same raw cards only sell for about $35 today. That puts it at 20th on the current list.
1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems
This card is the prime example of how card popularity can shift over time. In 1998 the Metal Universe PMG Green was selling for about $560 in 1998 which put it at 8th on the original list. Today, this card is by far the most valuable of the bunch. In fact, with only 15 copies of each green parallel, we don’t have any sales of the green copies to go off of. However, a PSA 9 copy of the more plentiful red version (population of 135) recently sold for $54,000. The rise in PMG popularity over the last 20 years has been amazing.
1997 Skybox Premium Rubies
The same goes for the Skybox Rubies cards. At $300, the 1997 Rubies parallel was sitting at 16th on the list. Well, a PSA 8 Rubies recently sold for $40,000 which moves it up to #2 on the current list.
If you want to see how the full list of the top 20 cards compares, check out this post on waxpackhero.com.
As we can see from the list, there has been significant change to what was popular and valuable in 1998 compared to today. Over time, the more rare and scarce cards overtook the more widely available versions. What does this mean for the current crop of popular inserts and parallels? Prizm Gold, Kabooms, Downtowns, and MLB Debut Patches are the current rage. Will those hold onto their popularity in coming years? Or will collectors identify other inserts and parallels which are more rare and scarce? Time will tell, but my takeaway is that just because something is popular today, it doesn't mean it will always be that way in the decades to come.
Lastly, I want to give a thank you to @junkwaxheroes for the help with providing me info from the original Beckett article and to cardladder.com for the current values and the card images you see here.