Ebay Users

by Dan Hitt - Manager, Sports Data Publishing Terrell Owens just concluded his first press conference following a season-long suspension by the Philadelphia Eagles. While this is not TO’s first (or likely last) run-in with authority, he very well could have seen his last encounter with enthusiastic collectors ready to forgive and forget. During his tumultuous eight-year career with the 49ers, Owens was at times a fan favorite and at other times an enemy of the state. At his San Francisco best in 2000 and 2001, his most popular Rookie Card, 1996 SP #7, saw a run up in value to $20, with professionally graded Mint copies of the card selling for as high as $100. By the end of 2003, with his 49ers days over, the card had softened to $15, with many sellers happy to get $6 for the card. It quickly rebounded on the strength of Owens’ Eagles heroics, especially following Super Bowl XXXIX, when copies of the card could scarcely be found for less than $25 and Mint graded copies were selling for around $120. It seems likely now that collectors will once again fall off of the TO bandwagon, but for how long? After all, there are those fans who gravitate toward the controversial athlete, but the number of collectors willing to drop a few more dollars on cards of those guys is almost always smaller than willing sellers. In fact, most NFL stars suffer from the old adage “out of sight out of mind” once they leave the spotlight and their cards drop in value. Owens may be large enough to break that mold, but don’t count on it in the short term. In the long run, he has a major repair to perform on his image and is in dire need of a rebirth with a new team in 2006 if collectors holding onto his cards are to see any returns. It can be done, but the odds are now very long for TO as potential card buyers seem to be dropping like flies.