Right now, sports memorabilia is very much reaching a new collecting high, despite the fact that I dont think that sports cards are really exploding in the same way. Because of the way that things have played out with increased value tied to game worn materials, most of the parts of the hobby that have been a constant since 1996 are getting more and more difficult as a result.

Lets play this out.

Since 1996, millions of game worn swatch cards have been inserted into packs of cards. This includes swatch cards of players who have very limited amount of material from their playing days available.

This goes back to the pre-war era, where finding game used materials of original hall of famers became something that was of equal importance to individual collectors and card companies alike. Things like Babe Ruth material and Mickey Mantle Material became the top grabs, and since the early 2000s, it has become almost impossible to find. Luckily for everyone, Ruth’s celebrity had an impact on preservation of his gear. Same could be said about Mantle, with both players having more available material than someone who was less famous.

This led to companies like Upper Deck, Topps and DLP (nee Panini) to create sets that used a lot of these relics to get collectors on board with some amazing retired focused sets.

Fast forward a bit to today. Most of that material is now either A) gone or B) too expensive to acquire at this point in the game. Similarly, game used material is now a competition between three groups of people instead of just two. In addition to collectors and card companies, the leagues have wised up about the value of the material they have at their finger tips. You might even be able to add players to the mix, as some have realized that saving their jerseys to trade could be huge.

This has driven up the cost of acquiring new material to cut up, and when you also see that relic content isnt even that valuable any longer, Panini and Topps seem to have made a choice. Rather than play the game for a piece of game used jersey to create a card that few people still find valuable, opt for “player worn” material that mirrors their practice with rookies in the NFL.

If you are unfamiliar, the way card companies have handled the NFL rookie crop for the last 20 years is nothing short of insane. They realized early on that in a league dominated by impactful first year players, something had to be done to get relic content into packs. Back in the beginning of the 2000s, when the relic boom was at its height, Upper Deck found the answer. Instead of waiting until October for the few rookies that mean anything to get on the field, they were going to create a process that brought relic content to packs in May.

During the Rookie Premiere, 40 of the league’s top rookies gather up and sign thousands of autographs as well as put on close to a hundred jerseys that the card companies use for ALL rookie content in packs. This means, for a rookie to have game used material at all during their rookie year is very unlikely, if not completely absent. It has been this way for 20 years, and it is the only way all 40 premiere attendees get the rookie patch autos that everyone chases. Think about it, how many of the 40 guys see the field every year? I can guarantee it wont be 40.

Taking that process to the rest of the NFL saw a huge uptick this year, and for once I kind of see why it is being used. Doesnt mean I agree with the practice, but I do understand it. Most collectors dont understand what “Player Worn” means. They dont get that it is a stack of jerseys that is worn for no more than 2 seconds, done off the field. They also dont really assign value to most relic content that isnt also autographed. If that is the case, why should Panini continue to invest in the platform? I gotta say, the case isnt strong.

One would expect that the money saved in the overall P&L should be reinvested into the product, but Im not sure how that might be happening, if at all. Panini’s goal is likely to keep the cost of producing a given product the same year over year. Removing the cost of acquiring game used material from 85% of the non-rookie players should provide some relief. Im curious what that might mean for investing in the other parts of the product that also cost money.

This begs the question – Does player worn content become the equivalent of sticker autographs in the hobby? I think the answer is yes. Sticker autos can still be valuable as we have seen. People dont like them, but they dont stop buying products because stickers are included. Look at National Treasures – full of stickers, still widely bought.

I dont like sticker autos as much as on card, but I have resigned myself to understand that they arent going anywhere. I can kick and scream all I want, but it wont do much. The logistics of completing signings with stickers is just too valuable for companies to ditch. I would guess they all want 100% hard signed all the time, but when some players only sign twice a year, its not always feasible to include signatures without huge redemption percentages.

I will say, its not that the explosion of player worn materials isnt frustrating, because we see products like Flawless use the content just like a lower end set like Phoenix. That’s not what expectations would dictate as acceptable.

At the same point, we are going to hit a point where game used supply is just going to be very difficult to get access to. Even more so for players that are sadly dying earlier in their life as a result of the game. When competition for the relics becomes more and more expensive, the more companies will look to find alternative methods. The only way to combat that is to speak with our wallets. So far, their experiment has shown its not a big deal. Lack of knowledge surrounding the nature of the relics, combined with a desire to get new additions to a yearly calendar has shown the issue to be a non-starter.

The same talk track can be used in regards to authenticity of the game used relics. With constant questions surrounding whether or not relics are actually game used, player worn material may be a step above, believe it or not. Would you rather have a questionable game used swatch or a 100% authentic player worn one? Im not sure I would want either one, but other collectors would definitely be in a different situation.

Overall, it might be that relics are well past the point of being the bedrock of the industry’s ability to sell product. At some point, we need to understand what the trade off will be if we continue to want relics to be part of our ongoing engagement with packs and singles. At least, for most of the players that are now going with player worn relics instead of game used, most already have a ton of cards in inventory that were done the old way.