Tanner Allen Becomes First College Player to Sell Autographed Trading Cards
Mississippi State star outfielder Tanner Allen already helped the Bulldogs baseball team make history in Omaha, and now he's doing it off of the field as well.
Allen became the first college player to sell autographed trading cards this week, according to Darren Rovell.
Allen has the trading cards available for sale to the public on his website, tannerallen5.com. And as if the thought of adding a piece like this to the collection wasn't appealing enough for MSU fans, know that a portion of the proceeds is going to a good cause.
“A portion of all proceeds will go to the Mississippi State Foundation," Allen wrote on his website. "The four years in Starkville will be with me forever, and giving back to the good people at Miss St. is something I’m honored to do. – GO Dawgs."
The trading cards could very well become the most popular item that Allen has available, but there's more merchandise available as well.
On the site, Allen is also selling T-shirts. We can only imagine the "Except Oxford" design will be especially popular given the remarks Allen made after the Bulldogs finished off Vanderbilt with a 9-0 victory in the final game of the College World Series finals to bring a national title back to Starkville.
"I couldn't be more happy for a team, a town, a fan base, the whole state of Mississippi, except Oxford, of course," the SEC Player of the Year said. "Those guys are always on my back. So I had to take a shot at them.
"This team overcame everything, man. From getting swept at home in front of 10,000 versus Arkansas to Missouri coming in and taking a series from us and then getting embarrassed at the SEC tournament. We just kept playing and playing. You blink an eye, we're national champions."
Allen is expected to be an early-round pick in the MLB Draft after finishing out the 2021 season with a .383 average, 100 hits and 11 home runs.
With several college athletes across the nation partnering with companies or finding a way to turn a profit themselves since the NCAA ruled to allow them to make money beginning on July 1, 2020, it will be interesting to see how many more Bulldogs strike deals as time goes on.