Warren Moon's PSA 10 NFL rookie card sells for record price
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Warren Moon is one of the most statistically prolific quarterbacks in NFL history.
A Pro Football Hall of Fame gunslinger, Moon’s career in the CFL and NFL stretched across four decades. Moon’s gridiron legacy includes his rookie card, which, based on a recent record-setting sale, is rising in prestige among football card collectors.
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A PSA 10 copy of Moon’s 1985 Topps Football (#251) rookie card sold for $3,600 on eBay on Wednesday. The sale (an accepted offer on eBay) was verified by Card Ladder, surpassing the $3,499.99 sale on Sept. 6 for the highest recorded sale of a PSA 10 Moon rookie card.
With a PSA 10 population of 89, Moon’s is arguably the crown jewel of the 1985 Topps set, which includes the Hall of Fame rookie cards of two key cogs in the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears defense — Richard Dent (#24), Steve McMichael (#32) — and Mike Munchak (#253), Moon’s teammate for 10 seasons with the Houston Oilers. While the 49,325 passing yards and 291 touchdown passes Moon compiled over 17 NFL seasons would alone give his rookie card some clout, his first licensed NFL trading card is in a set notorious for condition issues.
Chief among the problems that have led to a short supply of high-grade copies of 1985 Topps Football cards is the set's black border, which is prone to chipping. Graded 6,256 times by PSA, Moon’s rookie card has a one-percent gem rate, according to GemRate.com.
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Moon thrived while throwing the football all over the field in Houston’s powerful Run and Shoot offense. Though he didn’t win or play in a Super Bowl during his career, Moon’s combined NFL and CFL passing numbers (70,553 yards and 435 touchdowns) across 23 seasons in professional football (1978-97) make him, arguably, one of the most underappreciated/underrated quarterbacks in the history of the game.
The 1989 NFL Man of the Year and the 1990 Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, Moon was named to the Pro Bowl nine times (1988-95, 1997), led the Oilers to two division championships (AFC Central in 1991 and 1993) and guided his teams to 10 playoff appearances. When he became a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 2006, a class including Troy Aikman, John Madden and Reggie White, Moon became the first undrafted quarterback and the first Black quarterback to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
-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.