Jaxon Smith-Njigba's rookie cards are undervalued
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For the Seattle Seahawks to maximize the return on the three-year, $100 million investment the franchise made when signing quarterback Sam Darnold in free agency, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is an important variable in the equation.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the top young wide receivers in the NFL. While it's hard for non-quarterbacks to move the needle in the football card market, Smith-Njigba's card values don't measure up to his contemporaries. A first-round draft choice of the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, Smith-Njigba's values are such that they could be steals if the former Ohio State standout continues to put up big numbers.
The team’s 2023 first-round draft choice (No. 20 overall), Smith-Njigba, has recorded 22 receptions for 322 yards and a touchdown through three games. With Seattle kicking off the NFL’s Week 4 action against the Arizona Cardinals on “Thursday Night Football,” Smith-Njigba takes center stage on the Amazon Prime broadcast, providing an opportunity to grow his football card values.
It’s hard for wide receivers to get a foothold in a hobby dominated by quarterbacks. Still, with Smith-Njigba coming off a 100-catch season in 2024 (1,130 yards and six touchdowns), his cards are undervalued compared to his contemporaries.
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A prime example of the lack of love Smith-Njigba receives within the football card community is the current value of his 2023 Panini Prizm Football (#370) Silver rookie card.
Arguably the marquee ultra-modern rookie card for football players, the most recent sale of a Smith-Njigba PSA 10 Prizm Silver (population 371) was a $51 winning bid in an eBay auction on Sept. 22. According to Card Ladder, eight sales of the card in September have averaged $62, all of which have been between $84.99 and $46.01.
Smith-Njigba’s sales pale in comparison to the 2024 wide receiver class, which includes Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Cardinals.
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Based on the most recent online sales data verified by Card Ladder, Harrison’s 2024 Panini Prizm Football (#375) Silver rookie card last sold for $125.50 (an eBay auction on Sept. 21). Other 2024 rookie wideouts whose PSA 10 Prizm Silver rookie cards are outselling Smith-Njigba include Malik Nabers (#370) of the New York Giants (last sale verified by Card Ladder was a $200 eBay sale on Sept. 21), Brian Thomas Jr. (#314) of the Jacksonville Jaguars (last sale of $80 and monthly sales average of $83), Rome Odunze (#385) of the Chicago Bears (last sale of $116.96) and Ricky Pearsall (#383) of the San Francisco 49ers (last sale of $100).
Whether collectors or dealers want to buy Smith-Njigba’s hobby stock while it’s still low, one of the benefits of focusing on the former Ohio State standout is the presence of Smith-Njigba’s autograph through Panini’s 2023 product releases. While many top choices in the 2023 and 2024 drafts signed autograph-exclusive deals with Fanatics, thus removing them from Panini’s autograph checklists, Smith-Njigba signed in Panini’s autograph-centric products, including Contenders, Flawless and National Treasures.
Ungraded copies of Smith-Nijgba’s 2023 Panini Contenders Optic Football (#117) base autographed cards regularly sell for under $100 online, with a most recent eBay sale (according to Card Ladder) of $64.99 on Wednesday. With Panini releasing NFL and collegiate lines of products, Smith-Nijgba has Flawless and National Treasures rookie autographs and rookie patch autographs (RPA) with him in a Seahawks uniform and decked out in Ohio State gear.
-1f9b5aba42acf122a9de17edfe18f6ad.jpeg "Jeff Howe")
Jeff Howe is a sports writer with over two decades of professional experience contributing to ESPN.com, Rivals.com and the Sporting News, among other publications. He currently reports on the Texas Longhorns for “On Texas Football” after covering the Longhorns for 247Sports and CBS Sports. His hobby journey started when he was 6 years old, hanging out at his dad’s card shop and collecting cards alongside his two brothers.