Tracking down the best football rookie cards from every year wasn’t easy – but we did it! Bookmark this article to know all the great NFL rookie cards!
Best Football Rookie Cards Ever
Sports card collectors need to know what the best football rookie cards are, so they can improve their collection, and make it one of the greatest NFL huddles ever made!
Most of the sports card links on this page will take you to eBay. That means I will get a commission on the sales from this page. If you end up buying from these links, I personally thank you for supporting my website! Even if you don’t buy anything, thank you for reading my article! Enjoy!
As you might know, we’ve already looked back over the past 70-plus years to track down the top cards from the other sports:
- Best Baseball Rookie Cards From Each Topps Baseball Set Since 1952
- Best Basketball Rookie Cards From Each NBA Season Since 1948
- Best Hockey Rookie Cards From Each NHL Season Since 1951
- 1st Bowman Cards of the Top 100 Prospects in Baseball
- Tracking Rookie Cards For Top 100 MLB Players Right Now!
Those two articles rank among my most popular on this site, as collectors understand what a tremendous sports card collecting tool these bookmarked articles can be! I use each of these articles myself, as I try to upgrade my sports card collection. I’ll be using this one, too, as I still need many of the best football rookie cards from Topps and Panini (and more), so that my collection can become something I’m even more proud of.
One of the reasons I make these articles is because I want to help sports card collectors who have recently gotten back into the hobby, like myself! I wanted to go back and collect the the best football rookie cards I missed out on back when I wasn’t collecting!
What I really love doing is buying old blasters and hobby boxes of older products from DACardWorld.com, hoping to pull these cards myself! But you need to know which years you should buy to track down the best football rookie cards you want to pull!
I used PSA’s card values, along with the listings on both CardboardConnection.com and DACardWorld.com to find the best football rookie cards worth owning. I also try to denote whether that person is already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or not.
Starting All the Way Back In 1956!
I will update this article frequently, as some player’s ascend in value and some decline. The most recent seasons will have a higher number of rookies to collect because we’re still waiting to see if they will fulfill their promise. As the seasons wear on, I’ll remove the rookies that have fallen by the wayside.
This only includes flagship sets, like Topps, Prizm and Upper Deck. I won’t be referring to Topps Chrome, Finest, Fleer Ultra, Mosaic or any series like that. (Prizm became the flagship of Panini in 2012, so there are a few years when they weren’t the top set in football, despite Panini owning the license.)
Most card images provided by BuySportsCards.com.
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1956 Topps Football
- Roosevelt Brown (HOF) No. 41 – View on eBay!
- Joe Schmidt (HOF) No. 44 – View on eBay!
- Bill George (HOF) No. 47 – View on eBay!
- Lenny Moore (HOF) No. 60 – View on eBay!
- Stan Jones (HOF) No. 71 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1957 Topps Football
- Gino Marchetti (1st Topps Card) No. 5 – View on eBay!
- Jack Butler (HOF) No. 15 – View on eBay!
- Yale Lary (HOF) No. 68 – View on eBay!
- Dick “Night Train” Lane (HOF) No. 85 – View on eBay!
- Raymond Berry (HOF) No. 94 – View on eBay!
- Earl Morrall (HOF) No. 104 – View on eBay!
- Bart Starr (HOF) No. 119 – View on eBay!
- Tom McDonald (HOF) No. 124 – View on eBay!
- Johnny Unitas (HOF) No. 138 – View on eBay!
- Paul Hornung (Heisman, No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 151 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1958 Topps Football
- Jim Brown (HOF) No. 62 – View on eBay!
- Sonny Jurgensen (HOF) No. 90 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1959 Topps Football
- Sam Huff (HOF) No. 51 – View on eBay!
- Alex Karras (HOF) No. 103 – View on eBay!
- Jerry Kramer (HOF) No. 116 – View on eBay!
- Jim Parker (HOF) No. 132 – View on eBay!
- Bobby Mitchell (HOF) No. 140 – View on eBay!
- Jim Taylor (HOF) No. 155 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1960 Topps Football
- Forrest Gregg (HOF) No. 56 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1961 Topps Football
- Henry (Hank) Jordan (HOF) No. 45 – View on eBay!
- Don Maynard (HOF) No. 150 – View on eBay!
- Jim Otto (HOF) No. 182 – View on eBay!
- Tom Flores (HOF) No. 186 – View on eBay!
- Johnny Robinson (HOF) No. 139 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1962 Topps Football
- Mike Ditka (HOF) No. 17 – View on eBay!
- Ernie Davis (Heisman, No. 1 Pick) No. 36 – View on eBay!
- Fuzzy Thurston No. 69 – View on eBay!
- Roman Gabriel (No. 1 AFL Pick) No. 88 – View on eBay!
- Fran Tarkenton (HOF) No. 90 – View on eBay!
- Billy Kilmer No. 151 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1963 Topps Football
- Deacon Jones (HOF) No. 44 – View on eBay!
- Bob Lilly (HOF) No. 82 – View on eBay!
- Willie Wood (HOF) No. 95 – View on eBay!
- Ray Nitschke (HOF) No. 96 – View on eBay!
- Jim Marshall No. 107 – View on eBay!
- Larry Wilson (HOF) No. 155 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1964 Topps Football
- Daryle Lamonica No. 31 – View on eBay!
- Bobby Bell (HOF) No. 90 – View on eBay!
- Buck Buchanan (No. 1 AFL Pick) HOF) No. 92 – View on eBay!
- Len Dawson (HOF) No 96 – View on eBay!
- John Hadl No. 159 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1964 Philadelphia Football
- John Mackey (HOF) No. 3 – View on eBay!
- Herb Adderley (HOF) No. 71 – View on eBay!
- Willie Davis (HOF) No. 72 – View on eBay!
- Merlin Olsen (HOF) No. 91 – View on eBay!
- Mick Tingelhoff (HOF) No. 110 – View on eBay!
- Irv Cross No. 131 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1965 Topps Football
Topps produced “Tall Boys” for this specific football season, measuring 2-1/2” by 5 inches, which makes them difficult to get raw in good grades because they don’t fit normal card-collecting boxes from the past 60 years. They’re absolutely beautiful cards, but you’ll want to buy these graded if possible.
- Willie Brown (HOF) No. 46 – View on eBay!
- Winston Hill (HOF) No. 116 – View on eBay!
- Joe Namath (No. 1 AFL Pick, HOF) No. 122 – View on eBay!
- Fred Biletnikoff (HOF) No.133 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1965 Philadelphia Football
- Paul Warfield (HOF) No. 41 – View on eBay!
- Mel Renfro (HOF) No. 53 – View on eBay!
- Carl Eller (HOF) No. 105 – View on eBay!
- Paul Krause (HOF) No. 189 – View on eBay!
- Charley Taylor (HOF) No. 195 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1966 Topps Football
- Otis Taylor No. 75 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1966 Philadelphia Football
- Dick Butkus (HOF) No. 31 – View on eBay!
- Gale Sayers (HOF) No. 38 – View on eBay!
- Gene Hickerson (HOF) No. 45 – View on eBay!
- Bob Hayes (HOF) No. 58 – View on eBay!
- Chuck Howley No. 59 – View on eBay!
- Bob Brown (HOF) No. 134 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1967 Topps Football
There aren’t really any notable rookie cards from this set.
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1967 Philadelphia Football
- Tommy Nobis (No. 1 Pick) No. 7 – View on eBay!
- LeRoy Kelly (HOF) No. 43 – View on eBay!
- Dan Reeves (HOF) No. 58 – View on eBay!
- Dave Robinson (HOF) No. 80 – View on eBay!
- Jackie Smith (HOF) No. 165 – View on eBay!
- Dave Wilcox (HOF) No. 178 – View on eBay!
- Chris Hanburger (HOF) No. 183 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1968 Topps Football
- Jim Hart No. 60 – View on eBay!
- Jim Nance No. 72 – View on eBay!
- Craig Morton No. 155 – View on eBay!
- Floyd Little (HOF) No. 173 – View on eBay!
- Bob Griese (HOF) No. 196 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1969 Topps Football
- Brian Piccolo No. 26 – View on eBay!
- Dick Anderson No. 59 – View on eBay!
- Larry Csonka (HOF) No. 120 – View on eBay!
- Mike Curtis No. 229 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1970 Topps Football
- Larry Brown No. 24 – View on eBay!
- Jan Stenerud (HOF) No. 25 – View on eBay!
- Elvin Bethea (HOF) No. 43 – View on eBay!
- Alan Page (HOF) No. 59 – View on eBay!
- Lem Barney (HOF) No. 75 – View on eBay!
- O.J. Simpson (Heisman, No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 90 – View on eBay!
- Bubba Smith (No. 1 Pick 1967) No. 114 – View on eBay!
- Tom Mack (HOF) No. 151 – View on eBay!
- Claude Humphrey (HOF) No. 156 – View on eBay!
- Fred Dryer No. 247 – View on eBay!
- Calvin Hill No. 260 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1971 Topps Football
- Marty Schottenheimer No. 3 – View on eBay!
- Mercury Morris No. 91 – View on eBay!
- Ken Houston (HOF) No. 113 – View on eBay!
- Willie Lanier (HOF) No. 114 – View on eBay!
- Terry Bradshaw (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 156 – View on eBay!
- Preston Pearson No. 177 – View on eBay!
- Jim Kiick No. 186 – View on eBay!
- Roger Wehril (HOF) No. 188 – View on eBay!
- Charlie Sanders (HOF) No. 210 – View on eBay!
- Jake Scott No. 211 – View on eBay!
- “Mean” Joe Greene (HOF) No. 245 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1972 Topps Football
- John Riggins (HOF) No. 13 – View on eBay!
- Archie Manning No. 55 – View on eBay!
- Jim Plunkett (Heisman, No. 1 Pick) No. 65 – View on eBay!
- Ted Hendricks (HOF) No. 93 – View on eBay!
- Ron Yary (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 104 – View on eBay!
- Lyle Alzado No. 106 – View on eBay!
- Emmitt Thomas (HOF) No. 157 – View on eBay!
- Gene Upshaw (HOF) No. 186 – View on eBay!
- Roger Staubach (Heisman, HOF) No. 200 – View on eBay!
- Larry Little (HOF) No. 240 – View on eBay!
- Charlie Joiner (HOF) No. 244 – View on eBay!
- Steve Spurrier (Heisman) No. 291 – View on eBay!
- Rayfield Wright (HOF) No. 316 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1973 Topps Football
- Ken Anderson No. 34 – View on eBay!
- Art Shell (HOF) No. 77 – View on eBay!
- Franco Harris (HOF) No. 89 – View on eBay!
- Jack Ham (HOF) No. 115 – View on eBay!
- Curley Culp (HOF) No. 167 – View on eBay!
- Jack Tatum No. 288 – View on eBay!
- Dan Dierdorf (HOF) No. 322 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1974 Topps Football
- Ahmad Rashad No. 105 – View on eBay!
- Harold Carmichael (HOF) No. 121 – View on eBay!
- John Matuszak No. 148 – View on eBay!
- Joe Delamielleure (HOF) No. 183 – View on eBay!
- Ray Guy (HOF) No. 219 – View on eBay!
- John Hannah (HOF) No. 383 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1975 Topps Football
- Mel Blount (HOF) No. 12 – View on eBay!
- Rocky Bleier No. 39 – View on eBay!
- Drew Pearson (HOF) No. 65 – View on eBay!
- Lynn Swann (HOF) No. 282 – View on eBay!
- Dan Fouts (HOF) No. 367 – View on eBay!
- Joe Theismann No. 416 – View on eBay!
- Cliff Harris (HOF) No. 490 – View on eBay!
- Cliff Branch (HOF) No. 524 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1976 Topps Football
- Steve Bartkowski (No. 1 Pick) No. 35 – View on eBay!
- Walter Payton (HOF) No. 148 – View on eBay!
- Randy White (HOF) No. 158 – View on eBay!
- Jack Lambert (HOF) No. 220 – View on eBay!
- Robert Brazile (HOF) No. 424 – View on eBay!
- Ron Jaworski No. 426 – View on eBay!
- Ed “Too Tall” Jones No. 427 – View on eBay!
- Brian Sipe No. 516 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1977 Topps Football
- Lee Roy Selmon (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 29 – View on eBay!
- Mike Haynes (HOF) No. 50 – View on eBay!
- Jim Zorn No. 65 – View on eBay!
- Mike Webster (HOF) No. 99 – View on eBay!
- Harry Carson (HOF) No. 146 – View on eBay!
- Steve Largent (HOF) No. 177 – View on eBay!
- Archie Griffin (2-Time Heisman) No. 269 – View on eBay!
- Dave Casper (HOF) No. 380 – View on eBay!
- Vince Papale No. 397 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1978 Topps Football
- Fred Dean (HOF) No. 217 – View on eBay!
- Tom Jackson No. 240 – View on eBay!
- Joe Klecko (HOF) No. 287 – View on eBay!
- Tony Dorsett (Heisman, HOF) No. 315 – View on eBay!
- John Stallworth (HOF) No. 320 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1979 Topps Football
- Doug Williams No. 48 – View on eBay!
- Ozzie Newsome (HOF) No. 308 – View on eBay!
- James Lofton (HOF) No. 310 – View on eBay!
- Earl Campbell (Heisman, No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 390 – View on eBay!
- Donnie Shell (HOF) No. 411 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1980 Topps Football
- Ottis Anderson No. 170 – View on eBay!
- Phil Simms No. 225 – View on eBay!
- Clay Matthews No. 418 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1981 Topps Football
- Billy Sims (Heisman, No. 1 Pick) No. 100 – View on eBay!
- Kellen Winslow (HOF) No. 150 – View on eBay!
- Art Monk (HOF) No. 194 – View on eBay!
- Joe Montana (HOF) No. 216 – View on eBay!
- Dan Hampton (HOF) No. 316 – View on eBay!
- Mark Gastineau No. 342 – View on eBay!
- Dwight Clark No. 422 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1982 Topps Football
- Cris Collinsworth No. 44 – View on eBay!
- Anthony Munoz (HOF) No. 51 – View on eBay!
- Lawrence Taylor (HOF) No. 434 – View on eBay!
- Lawrence Taylor In Action (HOF) No. 435 – View on eBay!
- Ronnie Lott (HOF) No. 486 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1983 Topps Football
- Jim McMahon No. 33 – View on eBay!
- Mike Singletary (HOF) No. 38 – View on eBay!
- Joe Jacoby No. 190 – View on eBay!
- Marcus Allen (Heisman, HOF) No. 294 – View on eBay!
- Kenny Easley (HOF) No. 384 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1984 Topps Football
- John Elway (HOF) No. 63 – View on eBay!
- Howie Long (HOF) No. 111 – View on eBay!
- Mark Duper No. 120 – View on eBay!
- Dan Marino (HOF) No. 123 – View on eBay!
- Dan Marino Instant Replay (HOF) No. 124 – View on eBay!
- Dwight Stephenson (HOF) No. 129 – View on eBay!
- Andre Tippett (HOF) No. 143 – View on eBay!
- Curt Warner No. 198 – View on eBay!
- Jim Covert (HOF) No. 222 – View on eBay!
- Eric Dickerson (HOF) No. 280 – View on eBay!
- Eric Dickerson Instant Replay (HOF) No. 281 – View on eBay!
- Jackie Slater (HOF) No. 286 – View on eBay!
- Morten Anderson (HOF) No. 300 – View on eBay!
- Rickey Jackson (HOF) No. 303 – View on eBay!
- Roger Craig No. 353 – View on eBay!
- Darrell Green (HOF) No. 380 – View on eBay!
- Russ Grimm (HOF) No. 381 – View on eBay!
Best USFL Rookie Cards From 1984 Topps Football
- Jim Kelly (HOF) No. 36 – View on eBay!
- Steve Young (HOF) No. 52 – View on eBay!
- Reggie White (HOF) No. 58 – View on eBay!
- Anthony Carter No. 59 – View on eBay!
- Herschel Walker (Heisman) No. 74 – View on eBay!
- Marcus Dupree No. 76 – View on eBay!
- Mike Rozier (Heisman) No. 109 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1985 Topps Football
- Richard Dent (HOF) No. 24 – View on eBay!
- Steve McMichael No. 32 – View on eBay!
- Jeff Kemp No. 83 – View on eBay!
- Warren Moon (HOF) No. 251 – View on eBay!
- Mike Munchak (HOF) No. 253 – View on eBay!
- Mark Clayton No. 308 – View on eBay!
- Irving Fryar (No. 1 Pick) No. 325 – View on eBay!
Best USFL Rookie Cards From 1985 Topps Football
- Sam Mills (HOF) No. 19 – View on eBay!
- Gary Clark No. 49 – View on eBay!
- Doug Flutie (Heisman) No. 80 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1986 Topps Football
- Jay Hilgenberg No. 17 – View on eBay!
- William “The Refrigerator” Perry No. 20 – View on eBay!
- Wilber Marshall No. 25 – View on eBay!
- Mark Bavaro No. 144 – View on eBay!
- Jerry Rice (HOF) No. 161 – View on eBay! – Check out this article on “9 Amazing Facts” about this Jerry Rice rookie card you didn’t know!
- Bernie Kosar No. 187 – View on eBay!
- Boomer Esiason No. 255 – View on eBay!
- Reggie White (HOF) No. 275 – 1st Topps Card – View on eBay!
- Steve Young (HOF) No. 374 – 1st Topps Card – View on eBay!
- Andre Reed (HOF) No. 388 – View on eBay!
- Bruce Smith (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 389 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1987 Topps Football
- Doug Flutie (Heisman) No. 45 – 1st Topps Card – View on eBay!
- Charles Haley (HOF) No. 125 – View on eBay!
- Gary Zimmerman (HOF) No. 207 – View on eBay!
- Herschel Walker (HOF) No. 264 — 1st Topps Card – View on eBay!
- Randall Cunningham No. 296 – View on eBay!
- Jim Kelly (HOF) No. 362 — 1st Topps Card – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1988 Topps Football
- Brian Bosworth No. 144 – View on eBay!
- Chris Doleman (HOF) No. 157 – View on eBay!
- Cornelius Bennett No. 230 – View on eBay!
- Kevin Greene (HOF) No. 300 – View on eBay!
- Bo Jackson No. 327 – 1st Topps Football Card – View on eBay!
- Vinny Testaverde No. 352 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1989 Topps Football
- Thurman Thomas (HOF) No. 45 – View on eBay!
- Cris Carter (HOF) No. 121 – View on eBay!
- Tim Brown (Heisman, HOF) No. 265 – View on eBay!
- Rod Woodson (HOF) No. 323 – View on eBay!
- Michael Irvin (HOF) No. 383 – View on eBay!
1989 Topps Traded:
- Tim McDonald No. 21T – View on eBay!
- Deion Sanders (HOF) No. 30T – View on eBay!
- Steve Atwater (HOF) No. 52T – View on eBay!
- Randall McDaniel (HOF) No. 54T – View on eBay!
- Steve Tasker No. 65T – View on eBay!
- Troy Aikman (HOF) No. 70T – View on eBay!
- Barry Sanders (HOF) No. 83T – View on eBay!
- Derrick Thomas No. 90T – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1990 Topps Football
- Brent Jones No. 14 – View on eBay!
- Junior Seau (HOF) No. 381 – View on eBay!
- Cortez Kennedy No. 334 – View on eBay!
1990 Topps Traded:
- Emmitt Smith (HOF) No. 27 – View on eBay!
- Rodney Hampton No. 48 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1991 Topps Stadium Club Football
(There were no great rookie cards among the regular Topps issue, so we went with Topps Stadium Club instead.)
- Brett Favre (misspelling of “Brett Farve” was an uncorrected error on the card) (HOF) No. 94 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1992 Topps Football
There aren’t really any notable rookie cards from this set.
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1993 Topps Football
- Drew Bledsoe No. 130 – View on eBay!
- Jerome Bettis (HOF) No. 166 – View on eBay!
- John Lynch (HOF) (Multi-RC) No. 230 – View on eBay!
- Michael Strahan (HOF) (Multi-RC) No. 275 – View on eBay!
- Willie Roaf (HOF) No. 441 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1994 Topps Football
- Bryant Young (HOF) No. 356 – View on eBay!
- Willie McGinest No. 74 – View on eBay!
- Trent Dilfer No. 407 – View on eBay!
- Larry Allen (HOF) No. 441 – View on eBay!
- Marshall Faulk (HOF) No. 445 – View on eBay!
- Isaac Bruce (HOF) No. 448 – View on eBay!
- Kevin Mawae (HOF) No. 592 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1995 Topps Football
- Steve McNair No. 430 – View on eBay!
- Kerry Collins No. 224 – View on eBay!
- Tony Boselli (HOF) No. 222 – View on eBay!
- Warren Sapp (HOF) No. 229 – View on eBay!
- Rashaan Salaam No. 233 – View on eBay!
- Kordell Stewart No. 428 – View on eBay!
- 1995 Upper Deck: Joey Galloway No. 8 – View on eBay!
- 1995 Upper Deck: Derrick Brooks (HOF) No. 21 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1996 Topps Football
- Terrell Davis (HOF) No. 48 – View on eBay!
- Ty Law (HOF) No. 363 – View on eBay!
- Mike Alstott No. 419 – View on eBay!
- Simeon Rice No. 425 – View on eBay!
- Marvin Harrison (HOF) No. 426 – View on eBay!
- Keyshawn Johnson (No. 1 Pick) No. 430 – View on eBay!
- Eddie George (Heisman) No. 435 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1997 Topps Football
- Rodney Harrison No. 87 – View on eBay!
- Ray Lewis (HOF) No. 239 – View on eBay!
- Orlando Pace (HOF) No. 400 – View on eBay!
- Walter Jones (HOF) No. 403 – View on eBay!
- Tony Gonzalez (HOF) No. 414 – View on eBay!
- Warrick Dunn No. 415 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 1998 Topps Football
- Jason Taylor (HOF) No. 138 – View on eBay!
- Fred Taylor No. 339 – View on eBay!
- Hines Ward No. 341 – View on eBay!
- Ahman Green No. 350 – View on eBay!
- Randy Moss (HOF) No. 352 – View on eBay!
- Charles Woodson (Heisman, HOF) No. 356 – View on eBay!
- Peyton Manning (No. 1 Pick, HOF) No. 360 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 1999 Topps Football
- Ricky Williams (Heisman) No. 329 – View on eBay!
- Daunte Culpepper No. 330 – View on eBay!
- Edgerrin James (HOF) No. 339 – View on eBay!
- Donovan McNabb No. 341 – View on eBay!
- Torry Holt No. 343 – View on eBay!
- Champ Bailey (HOF) No. 354 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2000 Topps Football
- Kurt Warner (HOF) No. 1 – View on eBay!
- Shaun Alexander No. 371 – View on eBay!
- Brian Urlacher (HOF) No. 383 – View on eBay!
- Plaxico Burress No. 386 – View on eBay!
Here’s a non-Topps card that is essential to any football card collection:
- 2000 Bowman Tom Brady No. 236 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2001 Topps Football
- Michael Vick (No. 1 Pick) No. 311 – View on eBay!
- Steve Smith (Panthers WR) No. 321 – View on eBay!
- Drew Brees No. 328 – View on eBay!
- Reggie Wayne No. 344 – View on eBay!
- LaDainian Tomlinson (HOF) No. 350 – View on eBay!
- Richard Seymour (HOF) No. 360 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2002 Topps Football
- Tom Brady (1st Topps Card) No. 248 – View on eBay!
- Dwight Freeney No. 316 – View on eBay!
- Clinton Portis No. 326 – View on eBay!
- Ed Reed (HOF) No. 353 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 2003 Topps Football
- Carson Palmer (Heisman, No. 1 Pick) No. 311 – View on eBay!
- Terrell Suggs No. 314 – View on eBay!
- Anquan Boldin No. 348 – View on eBay!
- Nate Burleson No. 363 – View on eBay!
- Larry Johnson No. 365 – View on eBay!
- Jason Witten No. 372 – View on eBay!
- Andre Johnson No. 380 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2004 Topps Football
- Ben Roethlisberger No. 311 – View on eBay!
- Sean Taylor No. 347 – View on eBay!
- Eli Manning (No. 1 Pick) No. 350 – View on eBay!
- Larry Fitzgerald No. 360 – View on eBay!
- Phillip Rivers No. 375 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2005 Topps Football
- Troy Polamalu (HOF) No. 174 – View on eBay!
- Reggie Bush (vacated Heisman) No. 359 – View on eBay!
- DeMarcus Ware (HOF) No. 375 – View on eBay!
- Frank Gore No. 418 – View on eBay!
- Aaron Rodgers No. 431 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2006 Topps Football
- Maurice Jones-Drew No. 377 – View on eBay!
- Brandon Marshall No. 485 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2007 Topps Football
- Adrian Peterson No. 301 – View on eBay!
- Marshawn Lynch No. 302 – View on eBay!
- Greg Olsen No. 338 – View on eBay!
- Darrelle Revis (HOF) No. 374 – View on eBay!
- Calvin Johnson (HOF) No. 320 – View on eBay!
- Joe Thomas (HOF) No. 392 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2008 Topps Football
- Matt Ryan No. 331 – View on eBay!
- Joe Flacco No. 335 – View on eBay!
- Chris Johnson No. 351 – View on eBay!
- Ray Rice No. 352 – View on eBay!
- Matt Forte No. 356 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2009 Topps Football
Panini got the league and player union licenses to make trading cards for the NFL in 2009. But Topps was still making football cards too, at this point. Both card manufacturers would own NFL licenses from 2009 to 2016, so we’re going to stay with Topps for our rookie card choices for a few more years.
- LeSean McCoy No. 400 – View on eBay!
- Matthew Stafford (No. 1 Pick) No. 430 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2010 Topps Football
- Jason Pierre-Paul No. 23 – View on eBay!
- Rob Gronkowski No. 148 – View on eBay!
- Trent Williams No. 225 – View on eBay!
- Jimmy Graham No. 265 – View on eBay!
- Demaryius Thomas No. 275 – View on eBay!
- Sam Bradford (Heisman, No. 1 Pick) No. 300 – View on eBay!
- Ndamukong Suh No. 360 – View on eBay!
- Gerald McCoy No. 410 – View on eBay!
- Dez Bryant No. 425 – View on eBay!
- Tim Tebow (Heisman) No. 440 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 2011 Topps Football
- A.J. Green No. 151 – View on eBay!
- Cam Newton (Heisman, No. 1 Pick) No. 200 – View on eBay!
- Patrick Peterson No. 267 – View on eBay!
- J.J. Watt No. 331 – View on eBay!
- Julio Jones No. 350 – View on eBay!
- Colin Kaepernick No. 413 – View on eBay!
- Von Miller No. 427 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2012 Topps Football
While both Topps and Panini were still creating cards, 2012 was the first year Panini produced what would become their flagship set: Panini Prizm. But we’re sticking with Topps for this list through 2016.
- Chandler Jones No. 76 – View on eBay!
- Ryan Tannehill No. 134 – View on eBay!
- Andrew Luck (No. 1 Pick) No. 140 – View on eBay!
- Kam Chancellor No. 157 – View on eBay!
- Russell Wilson (Passing – Stands Visible) No. 165 – View on eBay!
- Lavonte David No. 257 – View on eBay!
- Kirk Cousins No. 326 – View on eBay!
- Robert Griffin III (Heisman) No. 340 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 2013 Topps Football
- Travis Kelce No. 31 – View on eBay!
- Geno Smith No. 126 – View on eBay!
- DeAndre Hopkins No. 155 – View on eBay!
- Le’Veon Bell No. 403 – View on eBay!
- Keenan Allen No. 435 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2014 Topps Football
- Davante Adams No. 337 – View on eBay!
- Odell Beckham Jr. No. 355 – View on eBay!
- Mike Evans No. 387 – View on eBay!
- Aaron Donald No. 424 – View on eBay!
- Johnny Manziel (Heisman) No. 429 – View on eBay!
- Jimmy Garoppolo No. 432 – View on eBay!
- Derek Carr No. 438 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2015 Topps Football
- Todd Gurley No. 422 – View on eBay!
- Melvin Gordon No. 423 – View on eBay!
- Amari Cooper No. 451 – View on eBay!
- Stefon Diggs No. 452 – View on eBay!
- Tyler Lockett No. 462 – View on eBay!
- Jameis Winston (Heisman) No. 500 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2016 Panini Prizm Football
Panini got the sole license to produce football cards with NFL logos and player names in 2016, which meant Topps wouldn’t have a football product for the first time since 1955. Prizm is a chromium card that feels like a Topps Chrome card. When we refer to Prizm cards, we’re only referring to base cards, like the rest of this article, but the Prizm Silver cards are more desirable, and they have the same card number.
- Jared Goff (No. 1 Pick) No. 208 – View on eBay!
- Joey Bosa No. 228 – View on eBay!
- Michael Thomas No. 230 – View on eBay!
- Dak Prescott No. 231 – View on eBay!
- Ezekiel Elliott No. 238 – View on eBay!
- Jalen Ramsey No. 291 – View on eBay!
- Tyreek Hill No. 296 – View on eBay!
- Derrick Henry No. 298 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 2017 Panini Prizm Football
(View hobby box pricing on eBay!)
(View blaster box pricing on eBay!)
- Cooper Kupp No. 203 – View on eBay!
- T.J. Watt No. 216 – View on eBay!
- James Conner No. 225 – View on eBay!
- Myles Garrett (No. 1 Pick) – No. 242 – View on eBay!
- Chris Godwin No. 243 – View on eBay!
- Christian McCaffrey No. 249 – View on eBay!
- Joe Mixon No. 261 – View on eBay!
- Patrick Mahomes No. 269 – View on eBay!
- Deshaun Watson No. 279 – View on eBay!
- Alvin Kamara No. 291 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2018 Panini Prizm Football
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- Baker Mayfield (No. 1 Pick) No. 201 – View on eBay!
- Saquon Barkley No. 202 – View on eBay!
- Josh Allen No. 205 – View on eBay!
- D.J. Moore No. 207 – View on eBay!
- Calvin Ridley No. 209 – View on eBay!
- Lamar Jackson No. 212 – View on eBay!
- Nick Chubb No. 213 – View on eBay!
- Dallas Goedert No. 299 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2019 Panini Prizm Football
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- Kyler Murray (No. 1 Pick) No. 301 – View on eBay!
- Daniel Jones No. 302 – View on eBay!
- Nick Bosa No. 311 – View on eBay!
- DK Metcalf No. 343 – View on eBay!
- Terry McLaurin No. 353 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2020 Panini Prizm Football
(View hobby box pricing on eBay!)
- Brandon Aiyuk No. 301 – View on eBay!
- Joe Burrow (No. 1 Pick) No. 307 – View on eBay!
- Antoine Winfield Jr. No. 322 – View on eBay!
- Justin Herbert No. 325 – View on eBay!
- Jonathan Taylor No. 332 – View on eBay!
- CeeDee Lamb No. 334 – View on eBay!
- Tua Tagovailoa No. 339 – View on eBay!
- Jalen Hurts No. 343 – View on eBay!
- D’Andre Swift No. 358 – View on eBay!
- Jordan Love No. 363 – View on eBay!
- Chase Young No. 383 – View on eBay!
- Justin Jefferson No. 398 – View on eBay!
Best Football Rookie Cards From 2021 Panini Prizm Football
(View hobby box pricing on eBay!)
- Trevor Lawrence (No. 1 Pick) No. 331 – View on eBay!
- Zach Wilson No. 332 – View on eBay!
- Trey Lance No. 333 – View on eBay!
- Justin Fields No. 334 – View on eBay!
- DeVonta Smith No. 335 – View on eBay!
- Mac Jones No. 336 – View on eBay!
- Ja’Marr Chase No. 337 – View on eBay!
- Jaylen Waddle No. 338 – View on eBay!
- Kyle Pitts No. 341 – View on eBay!
- Amon-Ra St. Brown No. 358 – View on eBay!
- Micah Parsons No. 382 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2022 Panini Prizm Football
(View hobby box pricing on eBay!)
- Kenny Pickett No. 301 – View on eBay!
- Desmond Ridder No. 302 – View on eBay!
- Sam Howell No. 306 – View on eBay!
- Drake London No. 308 – View on eBay!
- Garrett Wilson No. 309 – View on eBay!
- Chris Olave No. 310 – View on eBay!
- Breece Hall No. 317 – View on eBay!
- George Pickens No. 329 – View on eBay!
- Skyy Moore No. 331 – View on eBay!
- Aidan Hutchinson No. 340 – View on eBay!
- Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner No. 341 – View on eBay!
- Isiah Pacheco No. 352 – View on eBay!
- Brock Purdy No. 353 – View on eBay!
Best NFL Rookie Cards From 2023 Panini Prizm Football
(View hobby box pricing on eBay!)
- C.J. Stroud – 102 – View on eBay!
- Anthony Richardson – 104 – View on eBay!
- Bryce Young (No. 1 Pick) – 101 – View on eBay!
- Will Levis – 103 – View on eBay!
- Bijan Robinson – 115 – View on eBay!
- De’Von Achane – 365 – View on eBay!
- Jahmyr Gibbs – 331 – View on eBay!
- Zay Flowers – 143 – View on eBay!
- Puka Nacua – 197 – View on eBay!
- Jordan Addison – 368 – View on eBay!
- Jaxson Smith-Njigba – 390 – View on eBay!
- Tank Dell – 341 – View on eBay!
Those are the best football rookie cards in all the land! Don’t forget to check out these other articles, too:
- Best Baseball Rookie Cards From Each Topps Baseball Set Since 1952
- Best Basketball Rookie Cards From Each NBA Season Since 1948
- Best Hockey Rookie Cards From Each NHL Season Since 1951
- 1st Bowman Cards of the Top 100 Prospects in Baseball
- Tracking Rookie Cards For Top 100 MLB Players Right Now!
If I missed one of the best football rookie cards, please let me know by tweeting at me @DavidGonos, or by mentioning it in one of my YouTube videos!