It has taken a long time for card collectors to respect Matthew Stafford, but a Super Bowl trip and win has started to change things.
Speculative buying on Stafford has been low for a while. His career with the Detroit Lions and the fact that he's 34 are two of the most obvious negatives.
But the vast differences between his opponent Joe Burrow and Stafford is stark.
In the past two months, more than 100 cards of Burrow sold for at least $10,000 or more. Stafford? None.
And while Stafford can still be seen as cheap — post-Super Bowl buys of some of his best cards ranged from $4,500 to $9,100 — the market has clearly decided to take a stab at the quarterback. In fact, 75 of Stafford's highest-priced cards bought on eBay were purchased in the last month alone.
"They've gone up, but given how super low of a population they are, I am surprised they aren't up more," said Geoff Wilson, founder of Sports Card Investor, which provides data to sports card collectors. "Normally demand would overwhelm supply and cause prices to spike."
So why does it appear that there's a ceiling on Stafford while the sky is the limit for Burrow?
"I think it's because he's older and because this is his first playoff run," Wilson said. "In that regard, he's no different from Trent Dilfer. Granted his stats are way better, but it feels like everyone completely discounts his time with Detroit since they were never good."
Other Rams stars have seen pops, though not as consistent as Stafford.
Defensive lineman Aaron Donald recorded two sacks in the Super Bowl, adding a ring to his lengthy accomplishments. Even before the game, rumors swirled that with a win Donald could walk away.
Meanwhile, Cooper Kupp finished his record-setting year with a Super Bowl MVP thanks to 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Still, of the 30 most-expensive cards sold on eBay of Donald, only seven came in the month of February. Of Kupp's 30 most expensive tickets, 11 were sold in February.
