Has Josh Allen Dethroned Patrick Mahomes as the King of Football Cards?
In this story:
Since taking over for Alex Smith in Week 17 of the 2017 season, the football world and the hobby have been crowning Patrick Mahomes. However, after a few down seasons offensively for the Chiefs, Josh Allen has risen to heights in the market that only Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes have previously reached.
While the Bills haven't made the Super Bowl, and haven't found nearly the success the Chiefs have had over the last few years, the market looks to be heading more in Allen's direction. While the Chiefs keep winning, it isn't "exciting" or as flashy as what Allen is doing for Buffalo. The 2024 NFL MVP has taken a massive step in his game on the field, and the hobby off it.
The New Million-Dollar Man
While Patrick Mahomes still has the highest sale ever for a football card, with his 2017 National Treasures Shield RPA 1/1 BGS 8.5/Auto 10 at $4.3 million, the football world went over two years without a million-dollar sale. That was, until Josh Allen managed to pull off the feat twice in 2026.
As the new million-dollar man, Allen has now tied Mahomes for the second-most million-dollar card sales behind Tom Brady. While neither has been able to measure up to Brady yet in the card market, Allen's star is continuing to ascend.
Has Allen Passed Mahomes Behind Brady?
The question has become if Allen is the new face of football cards for the modern collector. While it is easy to look at Mahomes' all-time sales and the fact he has by far the higher sale between the two, the recent movement from Allen is at least making this a conversation.
Are collectors just bored of Mahomes? Not really! His market, per Card Ladder, is still up over 69 percent over the last two years. While he hasn't been seeing the record sales he had earlier in his career, his market is still up big.
As for Allen, his market has spiked and remained up since his MVP season in 2024. While his card ladder index shows a slight dip in the cards tracked, we've seen repeated large sales over the last few months, including two million-dollar sales. Allen's market is up 111.47% over the last two years, about double what Mahomes has seen.
So has Allen passed Mahomes? Yes and no. Allen has seen more high-end sales this year, but the overall value of Allen's more liquid cards doesn't quite add up to where Mahomes is, despite seeing bigger gains over the last two years.
High-end collectors seem to be favoring Allen at the moment as the market as a whole is up, but with Mahomes healthy this year, anything is possible.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Brendan has worked for various platforms, including The Washington Post, SB Nation, NBC Sports Washington, and more, covering everything from college basketball to fantasy football and betting. An avid collector as a kid, he got back into collecting in 2021 and is a dedicated soccer, football, and basketball collector.
Follow BrendanDarr