Understanding The Prices Of Memorabilia Of Rising Sports Stars Vs. Legends Of The Game
A pretty incredible theme that we have been watching are prices of newer stars’ memorabilia vs “established” and “classic” era athletes’ or artists’ items. It’s a fascinating trend and we don’t think we are the only ones noticing! We believe there are some takeaways for collectors, and there are ways we believe to wisely incorporate this phenomen into your own collection if you’re inclined.
The most recent and relevant example of a piece of memorabilia of a young star going for top-tier Hall of Fame money is New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge’s baseball jersey worn for his first career homerun. The price paid for this piece of history was a cool $160,000.
Now, this happened to be a very special Aaron Judge jersey. The first major league home run is a massive driver of value versus a regular game worn jersey. But even a “regular” game worn jersey has gone for the $20,000- $30,000 range in a few recent sales (prior to him even breaking the rookie HR record!). For comparison, Hall of Famer and fellow New York Yankees player Reggie Jackson’s 500th home run game worn jersey is currently for sale for less than $50,000:
If we look across MLB, NFL and NBA younger stars and the “values” of their game worn items, we see a pretty consistent theme. Similar to stocks, expectations get built into prices very quickly, and then the stock has to live up to very high expectations, creating risks. What if Aaron Judge isn’t a 500 home run hitter. What if he “only” hits 350 home runs. Then what is his jersey worth when the dust settles?
Essentially, Judge has to be a better player then Yankees legend (and 500 home run hitter) Reggie Jackson. How many 500 home run hitter’s jerseys do you think have gone for more than $50,000-$100,000? Or even $50,000 (and, by the way, several very special Reggie Jackson jerseys have gone for less than $50,000)? Our best guess is less than half. And again, this is happening in other verticals of collectibles too, not just game used baseball items.
This is happening with concert posters too, where the supply is much higher than, for example, a Jimi Hendrix poster from 1968.
So why is this happening?
- People want what they see now.
You turn on the television, open your newspaper, turn on sports radio, look at your smartphone or tablet. What do you see or hear? Better yet, who do you see? Who is being talked about? People gravitate towards the ‘flavor of the day.’ This constant bombardment of information from all angles and at all times can begin to get into a collector’s unconscious ability to subjectively value items.
2. Today’s players get paid a lot of money.
Professional athletes get paid much more money than that of their predecessors, and they do not need to give the jerseys off their back to put food on the table. Thus, the genuinly unique memorabilia available of today’s stars (not dirt from the infield of Yankee Stadium in a test tube) is few and far between which raises prices for when they do become available. Without knowing all of the details, the auction company of Aaron Judge’s first home run game worn jersey, Steiner Sports, has an agreement with the New York Yankees and/or its players for their equipment.
3. Modern Authenticity
Nowadays, items are authenticated with far greater processes, thankfully putting a dent into counterfeit items. Photomatching, for example, takes all of the physical markings on a jersey or uniform piece that can be identified and compares it to photographs from the exact games the jersey was supposed to have been worn in.
Professional sports memorabilia authenticators often contract with archival image companies like to use photographs for this process. The extensive libraries of such companies provide a tremendous amount of material that authenticators can use.Every game-worn item is like a fingerprint. If a jersey in question isn’t conclusively determined to be the exact one pictured, it isn’t a photo-match.
Also, as mentioned above, items are being taken right off the athletes back and being sold through viable companies.
With forged items finding their way out of the market, and genuine items being sold by reputable dealers, the confidence for buyers increases, hence the value of collectibles rises.
4. Disconnect In Value
This is simply the acquisition of an item by a person who does not know, or care, about the item’s true market value. Some have an unlimited disposable income, but for the rest of us, research is advised before purchasing an item. Collectionzz often receives correspondence from collectors asking for pricing assistance, to which we happily assist. You can ask us any questions by emailing connect@collectionzz.com!
