My original reaction to both Andrew Luck and RGIII being the top two draftees of 2012 was simple. “Wow, this is going to be one ridiculous year for cards.” Now that the Father’s day rookies have been live for about a week, we are starting to see just how valuable their original rookies will be. Prestige hits on 5/28, which is not only ridiculously and inexcusably late, but also the closest product today’s date. I mentioned before that I believed both of these guys’ base Topps rookies could crack 15 bucks, but after seeing the results from this weekend, it could be more.

These cards are quite prevalent by today’s standards at 499 copies each, and yet they are still passing 30 dollars regularly. There are “cracked ice” versions at /25, and autographs even lower, which are also selling for crazy money:

Andrew Luck Father’s Day RC /499

Andrew Luck Father’s Day RC Auto SSP

Robert Griffin Father’s Day RC /499

Robert Griffin Father’s Day RC Cracked Ice /25

Lets say, for instance, that Luck and Griffin both go out and destroy their expectations for the first few games. Even more than Cam Newton did in his last few games. Think about how that would affect these values we are seeing for their cards, it would honestly be on the level of Reggie Bush’s original hype and possibly Stephen Strasburg if the starts are impressive enough. Auctions like this might seem like a low ball offer on a huge card.

Because both are QBs, it intensifies the value almost exponentially. Unlike pitchers in Baseball, Quarterbacks are by far the highest valued position on the field. Its not even close. Because these are the two top hyped QBs in the last decade or two, combined with the contrived scarcity/serial numbering of the new card industry, it’s a whole new ball game.

On top of that, with no releases yet on the market, we are seeing much more of a focus on the first cards of them in NFL uniforms. I have absolutely no idea why Panini is putting out these cards before one of their most popular products of the year, but it is what it is. Im not saying to go buy in on the penthouse floor, but I am saying this might not be the penthouse when the real products hit shelves. Believe it or not.