Why I’m Investing So Much Money In Sports Cards (Examples Included)

Sports card culture is back! 

The market is super hot right now and it’s so exciting to watch people have fun, get back to their childhood passions, and learn the game of supply / demand and buying / selling.

This is a market that’s growing in demand, but doesn’t have more supply. That’s a recipe for opportunity – it’s a big reason why I put over a million dollars into sports cards over other alternatives. 

I really think you have to take a hard look at the market before you get in, please read this article carefully (and this one) because you have to be educated before you buy. The long term stuff is super safe, and the short term stuff is where you’ll see ups and downs. 

To give you a taste – here are some cards I’ve been investing in, and their prices today. 

1986 Michael Jordan Fleer Stickers

To me, the ’86, ’87 Fleer stickers are in similar production runs to the regular card and oftentimes even harder to get in good grades. I just think the whole genre of the stickers of that set are grossly under-priced. 

I think over next decade, this is one of the things that I can see the hobby making a collective decision on – like “wait a minute, if this is a supply and demand game, why is this card remarkably less in value when it is in the same supply and demand grade?” 

I think what’s the sports hobby is really interesting – when the market sometimes collectively decides something is under-priced, it has a huge opportunity for financial upswings. And I think ’86-’87 Fleer stickers is one of those cards.

I bought at around $700, they’re ~$2000 today at the time of writing this.

2003 LeBron James Topps Chrome

This might be my “mother of all shots.” The video below lays it out very clearly – in mid-April, it was $1050. On a national radio show, I was desperately begging my audience to buy it. I thought that it would go to $5000 within 3 years. It’s gone to $6000+ within 9 months. I don’t know what else to tell you. This is as black and white… The video is the “receipts.” I don’t have to tell you more. 

And don’t let LeBron and the Lakers win this title because who knows when that card can go to?

Luka Doncic 2018 Panini Prizm 

This probably rivals my hot-take above with LeBron, as one of my best picks or the Giannis rookie card that I talked about as well last fall. Luka was very obvious to me as an All-Time potential player. He’s proven that this season in his sophomore year. I think a lot more people believe now and because of that it’s gone up from $55 (the price I bought at) to over $300.

It’s tough to 6x your money in almost any way in life. That’s why I’m excited about sports cards. I’d be shocked if Luka doesn’t go to $1000. Stunned, I’ll probably start buying more soon.

1986 Fleer Basketball Hakeem Olajuwon

I think the ’86-’87 legends, ’86-’87 Fleer rookies are going to continue to go up in price. I think Hakeem is an All-Time top twenty player. I’m betting on this card super long. I think Africa is gonna have a very interesting kind of half-century. I’m looking forward to being an old man and sitting on these when they’re $2,000, $3000 a piece.

2013 Giannis Antetokounmpo Panini Prizm

I famously made the mistake of selling 10 of these for $200 or so on my Instagram stories. 

After I bought them for $120 – $130, I was buying them up heavily at $180. Now, they’re going for around $2000.

That’s over a 10x return on investment. And let’s call a spade a spade – it is wildly likely that Giannis wins the title in the next 36 months, and when he does the sky’s the limit, not to mention this man is wildly, is just incredibly charismatic and a good dude, and one of the clear front-runners to be the next face in the NBA.

If you’ve got money and you don’t need to liquidate it, one of the best places to put your money is old basketball cards. Cards like Dr. J, Kareem, Jordan, barkley, Larry Bird and Magic rookies – I think basketball for the next 20 years will grow in popularity, and I think basketball cards are underpriced. 

I’m desperately interested in 5 – 15 people who read this article to go hardcore, rekindle their childhood passion, or use their sports betting knowledge to make real money!