Brock Purdy Cards Highlight Boom & Bust Nature of Quarterback Speculation

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Sports card markets in general can be quite speculative. The market for NFL quarterbacks in the weeks and months leading up to the Super Bowl, though, makes other parts of the market look like sleepy, investment grade bonds by comparison (disclaimer: of course they're not).

There are elite, young quarterbacks scattered across today's NFL, with little to separate their resumes. Ultimately, Super Bowl rings (yes, plural) solidify a legacy and favorable public perception for decades to come. Given the talent assembled in San Francisco under Kyle Shanahan, some card collectors have happily bet on the legacy of Mr. Irrelevant himself, Brock Purdy.

‍Easily the best NFL quarterback named Brock since Osweiler.

Things didn't quite work out for that "Brocket Ship"...if raking in $41 million in career earnings is "not working out." On the field, though, glimmers of a more promising, maybe even legendary future enticed prospective Purdy collectors to once again "Brock out" this season.

In January alone, as prospects of a Niners Super Bowl with Purdy under center grew, seven Purdy cards sold for five-figure sums on eBay. Chew on that for a second.‍

Somebody paid $22,500 for a 1-of-1 Purdy Rookie Signature card. $22,500. Someone else paid $15,000 for a 1-of-1 Purdy Collegiate Patch Auto.

‍The crazy part is those buyers were likely just two wins away from seeing their cards highlight a major auction somewhere, potentially multiplying their investment in a few weeks' time.

Instead: pain. Purdy tore his UCL early in the game, watched his replacement go down with a concussion, and then spent the rest of the game figuring out how to hand the ball off more creatively than the down before. With each hand-off, Purdy card collectors saw their investments begin to circle the drain.

This very well may not be the end for Purdy. It could be a mere beginning for a mythological rise from last draft pick to multiple Super Bowls, but....things are bleaker than they were this time last week. If you're a Brock 'n' Roll fan, you're hoping the 49ers are willing to stake this Super Bowl-ready roster on a seventh round quarterback having a sophomore campaign at least as strong as his first, all while coming off some kind of UCL surgery. You're hoping that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan choose Brock Purdy over Trey Lance and free agent Jimmy Garoppolo.  It's a lot easier to make that choice when the kid just won you a Super Bowl. Alas, it was not to be, but at least as of this morning's news, Tom Brady is off the table.

‍Already, the card market is pricing in dimmer prospects, and Brock stock has fallen.  Silver, Pink Camo, and Green Mosaic rookie card parallels that were selling for $160-170 in the build-up to the game are now sinking to $40-60 levels. Auto cards that were closing in on $800 have been halved.

‍Jeez, you know what? It's almost enough to make you wonder if these sellers were ever even Brock Purdy fans to begin with. Tsk tsk. For shame. They'll find no room on the next Brocket Ship to leave earth.

As for the most expensive cards, those haven't yet taken a walk of shame back to the auction block. Perhaps the owners still believe. Like Billy Joel said, perhaps it's still Brock and Roll to them.

If anybody else still believes, might we interest them in a totally unlicensed Super Glow Brock Purdy "Blue/Gold FOTL Diamond Auto" 1/1? It's available for a mere $250,000.

If you're not convinced, might we add that the listing says it's "RARE [fire emoji]"?!

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