Football Cards: The Complete Guide

Football cards may never achieve the same status in popular culture as their baseball counterparts, but collectors know the real score.

Namely, gridiron cards have been around for generations, and they tell the history of the game in a way you won’t find anywhere else.

And the richness and depth of football cards issued over the decades make them both infinitely intriguing and challenging/frustrating at the same time.

Because, no matter how long you’re in this game, and no matter how hard you try, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see everything there is to see — let alone own a copy of every football card.

But that just means you can dig into the hobby safe in the knowledge that you can keep at it for a lifetime without running out of options.

Here at Wax Pack Gods, you’ll find dozens (maybe hundreds!) of posts about individual cards and sets, and about cards of individual players.

But this guide is intended to serve as your entry point into the wonderful world of football cards, with sections for all sorts of related topics: history of the cards, football card values, buying and selling cards, and many others.

As such, you’ll find links to our other football card articles, but also new material and links to the best FB conent all across the web.

Depending on when you read this, the guide may be simple and humble or robust and monstrous, because it’s going to evolve over the years.

Check back often, in other words, and you’re sure to find new and updated resources!

Now, let’s get started with …

Football Card Values

As with every other sellable in life, football cards are worth what someone will pay for them. And the general principles of supply and demand apply — values generally go up as the ratio of demand to supply does.

In turn, demand is affected by factors like player performance, awards and Hall of Fame induction, team performance, perceived scarcity, errors and variations, team popularity, card condition … and on and on.

The posts below walk through many of the most popular football card sets ever, picking out the most valuable cards from each one — and, yep, those value considerations all come into play to some degree or another.

(Until we fill all these in, you can always check the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide for more pricing information.)

So, ready to learn more about football card values?

Great …

Hut! Hut!

1968 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1969 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1970 Topps Football- 12 Most Valuable

1971 Topps Football- 12 Most Valuable

1972 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1973 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1974 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1975 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1976 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1977 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1978 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1979 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1980 Topps Football Cards – 12 Most Valuable

1981 Topps Football Cards – 12 Most Valuable

1982 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1983 Topps Football Cards – 12 Most Valuable

1984 Topps Football Cards – 12 Most Valuable

1986 Topps Football – 12 Most Valuable

1987 Topps Football – 11 Most Valuable

1988 Topps Football Cards – 10 Most Valuable

1990 Fleer Football – 10 Most Valuable

1990 Topps Football Cards – 10 Most Valuable

Football Cards FAQ