A Guide to Drake Maye Rookie Cards
As the third overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, it is no surprise that there are an abundance of Drake Maye rookie cards from both Panini and Topps.
He was the third quarterback off the board — falling behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels — but Maye did not have a blazing start to his NFL career, even as he earned a Pro Bowl nod as an injury replacement. But in Year 2, he showed the promise that made the Patriots spend such a high draft pick on him — putting himself into the MVP conversation with a 14-3 record and 4,376 passing yards.
As Maye and the Patriots head into the AFC Championship game for the first time since the end of the Tom Brady-era in 2018, collectors have made Maye’s rookie cards some of the hottest sellers on secondary marketplaces – at each low-, mid-, and high-end tiers.
In this article, we break down all of Maye’s 2024 base rookie cards, as well as a handful of popular inserts from his rookie year.
A Collector’s Guide to Drake Maye Rookie Cards
Below is a look at all of the Drake Maye base rookie cards from 2024 products. Inserts and parallels are not included in this section, but you can find a comprehensive list of Maye’s 2024 cards in the Beckett database. Cards are presented in alphabetical order by product name.
2024 Absolute #103
Absolute is among the longest-running brands in football, and collectors have a pair of base issues to pick from — the hobby version or the retail version. Maye’s Absolute rookie has more than two dozen parallels, giving collectors quite a chase to complete a master collection.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Absolute RC on eBay
2024 Certified #103
Another long-running football brand name is Certified, most known for its Mirror parallels. With a base rookie production run of /400, this is one of Maye’s more limited RCs, and it’s covered by 16 colorful Mirror parallels.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Certified RC on eBay
2024 Clearly Donruss #53
The Donruss flagship set is one of the most popular among collectors for its comprehensive look at a new season. Panini gives it some upgrades throughout the year, including an acetate finish in Clearly Donruss. Maye’s Rated Rookies card can also be found in more than a dozen parallel colors.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Clearly Donruss RC on eBay
2024 Donruss #379
Collectors often cherish a player’s “Rated Rookie” from Donruss. The familiar logo has been in play on sports cards since the 1980s, and Maye’s flagship Donruss rookie is one of his most affordable options on the market, giving collectors on all budgets a chance to get into the action.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Donruss RC on eBay
2024 Donruss Optic #229
The other flagship Donruss upgrade is Donruss Optic, which puts the flagship cards onto chromium stock. With a bevy of colorful reflective Prizm parallels, collectors have an expansive rainbow to chase when it comes to completing a master collection of this rookie card.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Donruss Optic RC on eBay
2024 Elite #185
Another of Maye’s numbered rookie cards hails from Elite, a Donruss concept with roots in the early 1990s. With 999 examples in existence, it’s not too tough of a challenge for collectors to acquire one, though getting their hands on some of the 19 parallels can be another story.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Elite RC on eBay
2024 Panini Black #128
Panini Black utilizes a dark theme throughout the product, helping boost its premium feel. Rookies like Maye have seven parallels in the set, including the Royal (/99) version, which is pictured here.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Black RC on eBay
2024 Panini Contenders Optic #70
As an exclusive Topps signer, Maye did appear in the flagship Panini Contenders product in the run Rookie Ticket Autographs, but he does have a traditional rookie card in the chromium upgraded Optic version of the product.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Contenders Optic RC on eBay
2024 Panini Encore #229
Panini leaned heavily into the 1991 Pinnacle Football design for its 2024 Encore product, giving first-year players like Maye a retro rookie featuring two photos on a design his parents might remember. Collectors need eight parallels to complete a rainbow.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Encore RC on eBay
2024 Panini Flawless #101
Panini’s Flawless is always a popular stop among the high-end crowd because even the base cards are embedded with gemstones. While Maye does not have any autographs in the product, his base rookie cards shine with a red ruby and a limited production run of only /20.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Flawless RC on eBay
2024 Panini Gold Standard #103
There is also a limited number of Panini Gold Standard Maye rookies on the market. Leaning heavily into themes of gold throughout the product, Gold Standard gives base rookie cards a holofoil shine and limits them to only /99 examples, placing this card among the more challenging base options for collectors to acquire.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Gold Standard RC on eBay
2024 Panini Illusions #59
Staying true to the product name, Maye’s Panini Illusions rookie card gives an illusion of sorts. Between the holo-foil finish and warped patterns throughout the background, this multi-photo rookie is both relatively affordable and aesthetically pleasing — if not slightly mind-bending.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Illusions RC on eBay
2024 Panini Impeccable #73
Panini Impeccable always delivers a solid artistic design, and the 2024 version of the product is no exception. With a smeared paint background in Patriots colors, Maye’s rookie card is limited to /75 and is a popular option among collectors.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Impeccable RC on eBay
2024 Panini Luminance #103
As one of the first football products onto the market, Panini Luminance includes a new season’s rookies, though in their college uniforms. With its focus on photography and simple design, it’s arguably his best rookie card among the few that picture him with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Luminance RC on eBay
2024 Panini Mosaic #303
Panini Mosaic is one of Panini’s top chromium products every year. Collectors can find Maye’s rookie card in dozens of parallels, aptly named Mosaics for their repeating tile appearance. Building a sizable rainbow is tough with 14 parallels numbered to /15 or fewer, but there are certainly collectors up to the challenge.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Mosaic RC on eBay
2024 Panini National Treasures #68
Many collectors look forward to their favorite player’s National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph, but because of Maye’s autograph deal with Topps, such a card wasn’t possible in his case. He still appears on a base rookie numbered to /99, which lands among his most valuable RCs.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini National Treasures RC on eBay
2024 Panini Obsidian #132
A popular chromium offering, Panini Obsidian utilizes etching throughout the base design and delivers dozens of colorful parallels for an expansive rainbow that collectors always appreciate.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Obsidian RC on eBay
2024 Panini Origins #145
Panini uses its Origins product to help paint the origin story of the upcoming NFL rookie class. With an artistic design, these cards also get filled in with 10 different colors on the parallel versions.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Origins RC on eBay
2024 Panini Phoenix #179
For collectors looking to rise up and collect an expansive rainbow, Panini Phoenix is a go-to option. Maye’s rookie card from this set is covered by dozens of colors and patterns, giving collectors plenty of variations to chase.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Phoenix RC on eBay
2024 Panini PhotoGenic #194
While Panini PhotoGenic is a product that puts the focus on action photography, it doesn’t leave the rookies behind. Instead of using collegiate action photos, the PhotoGenic rookies appear in posed photos on a framed design as part of the “Rookie Portraits” subset — keeping up with the photography theme in a different way.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini PhotoGenic RC on eBay
2024 Panini Prizm #329
Over the years, Panini Prizm has become one of the go-to brands in the football card industry. Maye’s rookie card from the product comes in a wide variety of parallels, and the base image will be lasting if he continues piling up MVP-caliber seasons.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Prizm RC on eBay
2024 Panini Prizm Deca #213
Panini Prizm Deca paid tribute to the first Panini Prizm release in 2012. The rookie design does not look exactly the same, but there are plenty of similarities. Another difference from the original? There are double the parallels in the Deca version (12) than in the 2012 set (6).
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Prizm Deca RC on eBay
2024 Panini Spectra #113
Spectra is another of Panini’s chromium brands, and it stands out by taking a different approach to parallels, giving many of them cosmic names instead of traditional colors. That being said, the base design is sharp with accents throughout that don’t distract from the player photo.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Spectra RC on eBay
2024 Prestige #304
An early release in the trading card calendar, Maye’s Prestige rookie pictures him in his collegiate threads. Rookie cards in the product include a full photo of the player and then a zoomed in on their face for a secondary photo, and collectors can find a litany of parallels to build a rainbow.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Prestige RC on eBay
2024 Rookies & Stars #129
Naturally highlighting the best rookies and stars, Panini Rookies & Stars delivers an affordable Maye RC for collectors. Featuring a prominent star background, this card has multiple colorful parallels to collect.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Rookies And Stars RC on eBay
2024 Score #303
Kicking off the new football card trading calendar, Score offers collectors the first NFL rookie cards of top draft picks. Maye wears his North Carolina uniform on the card, which is simplistic and designed for collectors on any budget.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Score RC on eBay
2024 Select #27
Select‘s tiered base set and numerous parallels are always a treat for collectors, and Maye’s main rookie card falls in the Concourse segment of the checklist. He also has cards in the Premier Level and Club Level tiers, so a master rainbow of Maye’s 2024 Select cards includes well over 100 different parallels.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Select cards on eBay
2024 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball
While not officially a rookie card, Maye appears as one of the non-baseball figures in the 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball set. There is also the online-exclusive, black-bordered Allen & Ginter X version and multiple parallels.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter cards on eBay
2024 Topps Chrome
Maye makes a rookie appearance in Topps Chrome, though the product is not fully licensed by the NFL. As expected, this card has numerous Refractors as Chrome returned as a full football product for the first time since 2015.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Chrome RC on eBay
2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire #203
Every card in the 2024 Topps Chrome Football set got the upgraded Sapphire treatment, with blue, gem-like accents throughout. The online-exclusive product has more exclusivity than the flagship version, leaving this rookie a more popular option than the Flagship Chrome card among collectors.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire rookies on eBay
2024 Topps Cosmic Chrome #162
A year after debuting as part of Topps Composite, Cosmic Chrome became a standalone football brand in 2024. Featuring outer space themes and out-of-this-world parallel names, Cosmic Chrome is a collector favorite — Maye’s rookie card included.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Cosmic Chrome RC on eBay
2024 Topps Inception
As one of Topps’ most artistic releases, Maye’s Inception rookie blends a solid action photo with an aesthetic background designed with New England’s team colors in mind.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Inception RC on eBay
2024 Topps Resurgence
Topps Resurgence was one segment of the 2023 Topps Composite set but came out as a standalone product in 2024. With an electrified background, Maye’s is one of many rookie cards in the product, which are all covered by more than two dozen parallels that mostly take on Shock or Surge themes.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Resurgence RC on eBay
2024 Topps Signature Class
Given the product name, Topps Signature Class puts a lot of focus on autographs. That said, there is still a 200-card base set that features mostly rookies like Maye, who has 13 parallels to chase.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Topps Signature Class RC on eBay
2024 Totally Certified #121
Panini revived Totally Certified as a standalone brand for the first time since 2024, giving Maye and others a rookie card in the foil-heavy product. Mirror parallels are in play here, just like they are in the traditional Panini Certified brand.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Total Certified RC on eBay
2024 Zenith #129
Panini used retro elements in developing the design for 2024 Zenith, combining the look of late 1990s Zenith sets and early 1990s Pinnacle sets into one card. The black border can make condition a challenge, and the parallels play off of football terms, primarily downs and Red Zone.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Zenith RC on eBay
Key Drake Maye Rookie Inserts
While inserts have never been considered true rookie cards, they can be some of the most popular cards from any player’s rookie year. Below are a handful of the key inserts that collectors try to add to their collection of Drake Maye rookie-year cards.
2024 Absolute Kaboom
With a reflective and exploding background and stout illustrations, Kaboom inserts have been a collector favorite for over a decade. Maye has two versions in 2024 Absolute — a horizontal Kaboom and a vertical Kaboom. Both are popular with collectors and have Gold (/10) and Green (1/1) parallels.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Absolute Kaboom inserts on eBay
2024 Panini Prizm Manga Vertical #2
Depicting players in the popular Japanese illustration style, Panini Prizm Manga inserts have become cherished pieces for collectors. Maye made his debut appearance wearing a revolution-style hat and cape as a future leader of the Patriots.
- Shop for Maye’s 2024 Panini Prizm Manga inserts on eBay
2024 Panini Prizm Color Blast #2
Color Blast SSPs are popular no matter what product they hail from, and Maye has four of them for collectors to choose from. The primary chase comes from Panini Prizm, though Maye has other 2024 Color Blast inserts in Obsidian, One, and Phoenix.
- Shop for Maye’s Color Blast inserts on eBay
