Lamar Jackson collectibles soar

LAMAR’S ARRIVAL — As an NFL quarterback, the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson arrived as a bona fide stud during the 2019 season, getting more and more productive with every game. He also appears to have arrived in the collectibles hobby. In mid-December, a limited-edition Jackson autographed patch card from Panini’s 2018 National Treasures set sold for $30,000 on 103 bids, putting it atop our chart of top-selling online auction listings.

Jackson’s emergence isn’t all that surprising. As a college sophomore at Louisville in 2016, he won the Heisman Trophy, accounting for 51 touchdowns—throwing for 30 and running for 21 more. He’s the youngest player to win the coveted award; he was only 19 years and 337 days old at the time—five days younger than Jameis Winston when he won the 2013 Heisman.

Jackson entered the NFL Draft in 2018 and was a first-round pick. However, he lasted all the way to the end of the round, meaning almost every NFL team had a shot at him. The Ravens had two first-round picks but took tight end Hayden Hurst at No. 25, gambling that Jackson would still be available for their No. 32 pick. He was, lucky for Baltimore.

As a rookie in 2018, Jackson was Joe Flacco’s understudy until the veteran suffered a hip injury in Week 8. Since then, Jackson has been a force. In his first 23 starts, he threw for 41 TDs and rushed for 12 more.

Meanwhile, Jackson stock among memorabilia collectors has been skyrocketing. Along with the $30,000 rarity noted above, a host of other items have inspired noteworthy sales. The most highly sought Jackson items:

• 2018 National Treasures Midnight. This autographed card features a game-used uniform patch and comes from an edition of 20. One of them, marked #15 of 20, inspired 61 bids and fetched $16,100 in December.

• 2018 Panini National Treasures. Issued in an edition of 99, this one also features a game-used jersey patch and a signature. Three recent offerings sold for prices of:

—$13,000 on 103 bids (marked #29 of 99 and graded BGS 9)

—$9,500 on 25 bids (ungraded) BGS 9

—$9,000 on 19 bids.

• 2108 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket signed card. One example of this autographed card fetched $8,100. Graded PSA 10, it was marked #7 of 8.