Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and One of the Most Expensive College Football Cards Ever

The Miami Hurricanes play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday against Iowa State. The Hurricanes have nine Pro Football Hall of Famers - sixth most of any program. Still, the most expensive card of a player in a Hurricanes uniform never played a down in the NFL. The card is of Dwayne Johnson, part of a little-regarded set promoting tuna until Johnson became The Rock.

Unknown Date; Miami, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle (94) Dwayne Johnson during the 1994 season at the Orange Bowl. Johnson went on to become a professional wrestler and actor known as "The Rock". Mandatory Credit: Photo By Imagn Images (c) Copyright Imagn Images | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The Rock, as Dwayne Johnson is known to hundreds of millions worldwide, was once a backup defensive tackle for the Miami Hurricanes. He played all four years, winning a national title in 1991 and compiling 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles in 39 games. But he never became a household name.

Unknown Date; Miami, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle (94) Dwayne Johnson on the bench during the 1994 season at the Orange Bowl. Johnson went on to become a professional wrestler and actor known as "The Rock". Mandatory Credit: Photo By Imagn Images (c) Copyright Imagn Images | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

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Still, Johnson was included in a 24-card set produced by Bumble Bee Seafoods Inc., famous for their canned tuna. Johnson was in his senior year with the Hurricanes, and while not the most talented player on the team, he was one of the strongest.

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The card set featured the Hurricanes football program and their most prominent players. The backs of the cards were written in English and Spanish. The set also featured future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis, for which the set was mostly known until 1998 when The Rock became the WWF (now WWE) World Champion.

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock on the field before Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

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The cards appear to have been given out at a 1994 Miami home game in full, unperforated sheets protected in plastic. Since they were given out at a football game, finding the cards in Mint and Gem Mint condition was very difficult, considering the challenges of protecting them at a football game. Half of them were probably thrown out.

Image Courtesy of COMC

By 2013, Johnson's card with some dings was selling for about $125 raw - meaning it had not been graded. But a batch of cards made it home in perfect condition. PSA has graded 273 Bumble Bee Johnson cards with 33 Gem Mint 10s and 54 Mint 9s. Over time, the PSA 10 version grew in value but didn't reach stratospheric heights until 2021.

Image Courtesy of COMC

A PSA 10 copy sold on Heritage Auctions in Nov. 2018 for $660. But 2021 saw an astonishing increase in the price of the card, Johnson's only one in a football uniform. On Feb. 2021, there was an apparent sale on eBay for a PSA 10 version for $90,000, though it can't be confirmed if the card sold for that amount.

However, about a month and a half later, Goldin Auctions announced that the card sold for $81,180. A more than $80,000 increase in three years for a card that had existed for 27 years! The card also became one of the most expensive for a college football player.

Final Sale Price: $81,180

An all-time record for any card of @TheRock. pic.twitter.com/k1tjf7a15R

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) April 6, 2021

Consider that a 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski in his Minnesota uniform sold for $105,000 in Aug. 2022. A PSA 9 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Red Grange in an Illinois uniform sold for $81,000 in Aug. 2020. Then there's The Rock and the PSA 10 1994 Miami / Bumble Bee Perforated.

Prices have come down since then. A PSA 10 sold for $11,600 on eBay in November. The same card sold for more than $26,000 just two years before. Copies graded PSA 5, considered Excellent, can be bought for about $350 - $400.

Dec 14, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward poses for a photo during a press conference before the 2024 Heisman Trophy Presentation. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

So, as Heisman finalist Cam Ward takes the field one more time as a Miami Hurricane in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, keep in mind that if his professional career is as successful as his college career, he'll still have a long way to go to match the highest-selling Hurricanes card ever.

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