If you look up consistency in the dictionary of football performance, Drew Brees has his mug staring back at you. Since his injury and subsequent move to New Orleans, he has really accomplished more in those years than many QBs do an entire productive career. Not only has he won a Super Bowl against a tough opponent, but he is the current leader in passing yards over that time. The guy is a great person on and off the field, and is in a marketable situation playing for a team with a lot of fans. This year, as he is every year, Brees is on pace to break a number of records that are decades old. Yet, after all this production and winning, he still doesn’t have the same value as some QBs that are beneath his level in a lot of different categories.
Brees has been a frequent signer since the super bowl victory, but not excessively so, which makes me curious why his cards are not more valuable. He is a visible brand in the scope of NFL advertising and ESPN focus, which usually translates incredibly well into hobby value. True, he doesn’t have the flashiness of a guy like Michael Vick, or the team recognition of a guy like Ben Roethlisberger, but the guy produces at twice the level. Roethlisberger has won one more title than Brees, but it the discrepancy in their value should not be as much as it is.
Oddly enough, Adrian Peterson, a running back, is out producing him regularly in terms of autographs and value, signs more cards, and doesn’t have a ring. For a QB with career numbers like Brees, this should never happen. Productive quarterbacks are always more valuable than productive running backs, even those that play for the Steelers, Packers and Vikings.
Currently, the value hierarchy looks like this for active (non-rookie) QBs:
Aaron Rodgers
Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Tim Tebow (?)
Michael Vick (?)
Ben Roethlisberger
Drew Brees
Aaron Rodgers is more a reflection of his signature’s rarity and current team record than anything, but he does have potential to be on the same level of production as Brees. Brady has won 3 SBs and holds a lot of records for a VERY popular team. Manning is the face of the NFL, and Tim Tebow is one of the most popular college players of all time on a hot team (still inexcusable in my mind). Michael Vick baffles me still, especially considering his past, and his current situation in Philly. He did get a 100 million dollar contract that should keep him there for a long time, but his injury prone game plan should not put him on this list. Brees should easily be number 3 or number 4 instead of number 7, and when he breaks Dan Marino’s single season passing record, he may move up a few spots only to settle back in a few seasons later.
On this list there will definitely be a few hall of famers when all is said and done, and Brees WILL be one of them. That being said, I think its safe to say that he deserves a lot more credit than he has gotten around the hobby. I mean, check out his stats, you will be among the converted, I promise.
I remember buying miscellaneous lots of his autos posted in the off season, years ago. I’d pay about $100 for 6 or 7 autos, on average, after it all was done. After the SB win, 2 of the autos would pay for the lot itself. His stats were incredible before he went to the big game. Watch his Sport Science piece from a few years ago and prepare to have your mind blown… You’d think an Olympic archer would be more accurate than an NFL QB over a long distance, right…??? 😉
Rodgers and Brady are understandable, even Rapelessburger to a certain extent, but those other dudes ahead of Brees on that list? WTF? Brees is a machine and just produces outrageous QB numbers every year. I see another Super Bowl in his future. I don’t see even one for Teblow or Vick.
The best articles are the ones that have you nodding your head and saying to yourself, “Exactly.” This one did that. Great job!
I think it makes perfect sense. Fans buy cards of established players. Not investors. Speaking in general of course. Brees went to Purdue, not a big superfan college. Then had an average stint in San Diego. Now with the Saints. The Saints aren’t one of those teams that historically overpay like the Packers/Steelers/Cowboys etc.
Rodgers = Packers
Brady and Manning = Both Big Football Schools, Both Marketing leading men
Tebow = Florida and huge fan/investor list
Vick = Cult figure + Big Market Team
Big Ben = Steelers
I am actually surprised Romo isn’t on the list.
I think that the title of this one could just have easily been “The overvaluing of Vick and Tebow”, but your arugment, I think, is accurate. If Brees had taken a turn in a market other than San Diego or New Orleans, perhaps he’d move up the ladder on that alone, who knows.
Great point.
Also great point.
You talk about how many of the QB’s are headed for the Hall of Fame. How about the vast undervauluing of QB’s already in the Hall of Fame?
You can get signed Goal Line Art cards of all-time greats like Otto Graham and Sammy Baugh for under $50, and of players like Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, and Joe Montana for under $100.
Heck, I recently picked up signed Goal Line Art cards of Len Dawson and Fran Tarkenton for $10 each.
Brees is certainly a good quartback with good numbers….but one SB win and five excellent seasons does not a HOF quarterback make.
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That would be a whole other discussion on its own. As these guys pass on, I think you’ll see more appreciation for their autographs but, fact is, they’re still doing shows and signing for companies. Buy while you can. I do.
As a big Brees collector and HUGE saints fan, I have been very surprised to see Brees’s card values actually go down this season.