If you havent been in a place where you receive media coverage or internet connectivity, you may not know who is playing this weekend. If you are like me and NFL network is on 24/7 its gotten to the point of over-saturation, and that is why I am not surprised to see that collectors are going fucking nuts over the star players for each of the four teams. Even people you wouldnt expect to get a huge bump in value, are killing it like they are some ridiculous baseball prospect, and this my friends, is very good for the hobby.

This whole phenomenon is pretty easy to understand, I mean, each of these players is one game away from the Super Bowl, and two wins away from a ring. For guys like Ben Roethlisberger and a few of his teammates, this is a great opportunity to win back some of the fans he lost over the course of the last year, something that his collectors would very much like to see. For a guy like Aaron Rodgers, this is the new era of the Packers, and like Favre before him, he will need to prove himself on the biggest stage of them all. His fans have already made him one of the most valuable autographs in the league today, and a win tomorrow could make things even more crazy than they already are.

Check out some of the values of his recent autos. He is now taking in more per signature on eBay than Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Although I dont think he has reached that level yet in the league, the values speak for themselves:

Aaron Rodgers SP Authentic 3 Color RC Patch Auto /99

Aaron Rodgers Bowman Chrome RC Auto Refractor BGS 9

Aaron Rodgers Contenders RC Auto BGS 9

When you also see that guys like Mark Sanchez, Rashard Mendenhall, Mike Wallace, Jay Cutler and Troy Polamalu are on fire solely because of their prospects of a ring, you get a good representation of why a playoff run is like hobby gold. Unlike Baseball or Basketball that have extended post seasons, the NFL is basically just three extra games and the super bowl. That hyper-extends the importance of each game and leads to auctions like these, where collectors just want a piece of the star guys:

Troy Polamalu Contenders RC Auto

Rashard Mendenhall SP Authentic RC Patch Auto

Mark Sanchez Contenders RC Auto 1/1

Mike Wallace SP Authentic RC Patch Auto

Jay Cutler SP Authentic Auto /99

Here are my predictions for the weekend and for the Super Bowl, even though it pains me to do so.

Green Bay vs Chicago

I cant believe that the Bears have made it this far, and I think the miracle run stops here. This is Aaron Rodgers’ year, and everyone else is just a bunch of extras. Bears go down as expected, setting up a great super bowl for Brett Favre’s replacement.

Winner: Green Bay (ugh!)

New York vs Pittsburgh

I didnt think it was possible for someone to beat the pats the way the Jets beat them, so I gotta think that Pittsburgh is going to have a VERY tough time staving off another New York win. As much as Rex Ryan bothers me, I have to think that the incredible momentum of last week’s game carries through this week too.

Winner: New York (LETS GO GET A GODDAMN SNACK!)

Green Bay vs New York

Funny how this Super Bowl can still have Favre written all over it, even though he is as far away from the game as he can get with the season he had. His two “replacements” are going to throw down, and I dont even think its a contest as to who has the better offense. But, when you compare the defenses, they are very similar in strength, and due to that fact, I have to go with the Packers to pull it out in a close one.

Winner: Green Bay