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Brett Favre is certainly one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL’s history and his rookie cards are highly-desirable for football fans. His legendary run with the Green Bay Packers showed him to be one of the most consistently excellent players the game has even seen. Even when he came back from retirement briefly to play for the New York Jets and even his old team’s bitter rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, Favre put on impressive performances all around. Yet, he started with a slow year warming a bench on the field of the Atlanta Falcons. How has that affected the values of his rookie cards? Let’s take a look at his career and then go through a checklist of his rookie cards from 1991 to get the full story.
Brett Favre: Hall of Fame Bound from Season Two
Over his 20 seasons in the NFL, almost all with the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre established himself as one of the game's most successful quarterbacks. Favre was an 11-time Pro Bowler, thrice-selected for the first team All-Pro selection, and he also took three consecutive MVP awards from 1995 to 1997. No other NFL player has ever done that last accomplishment. His famous durability saw him start a record 321 consecutive games (if you count playoffs).
When Favre fully retired, he still held numerous NFL passing records, including touchdowns (508), yards (71,838), attempts (10,169) and completions (6,300). He got his nickname ‘The Gunslinger’ from his intense bias to action that made him arguably the most entertaining quarterback to watch in NFL history. He fired those passes with purpose and without hesitation like almost no other signal caller ever.
Brett Favre is simply one of the greatest QBs the game has produced. Favre was sensibly inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, capping off a history of successes that include a Super Bowl win and the Green Bay Packers retiring his #4 jersey when he left the team. In fact, Brett Favre was so famous as an exceptional quarterback that his notoriety was a joke in the 1998 film, There’s Something About Mary, with the incredulous main character becoming shocked that his girlfriend used to date someone as amazing as Favre. This helped him become an icon beyond just the gridiron and well-known in pop culture, too.
Even as he’s had a few controversies over the years, the value of his rookie and trading cards has never faltered and Brett Favre rookie cards are still appreciating in value. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Brett Favre rookie cards, their value, and why you might want some over others. Ready to check out some of the top Brett Favre cards around? Let’s go!
Brett Favre Rookie: Early Days
Brett Favre was born and grew up in Mississippi. He played high school ball and then headed off to the University of Southern Mississippi when he graduated. During four seasons as a quarterback and a couple of other positions, he did well but didn’t make a splash big enough to attract any major college team’s interest.
When he went for the NFL draft in 1991, he was picked in the second round, going to the Atlanta Falcons. Thus, his rookie cards do not see him suited up for his signature team, the Green Bay Packers. More often than not, rookie cards are among the most sought-after and valuable cards for a player. However, since Favre’s rookie cards are all pictures of him in black Falcons gear, there’s notably less interest in them for his longtime Green Bay fans.
Brett Favre joined the NFL at a time when sports cards were having a less than thrilling moment. They were past the classic era and yet they hadn’t moved into the modern era of photography and technology when Topps, Upper Deck, and especially Panini were making sports cards a real event. Innovations like autographs, inserts, extensive colored parallels, and game-used relics would bring exclusivity and excitement back in a big way in the new millennium, with hints happening in the late 1990s with cards like the Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems line pointing the way. Perhaps it’s no surprise that one of Brett Favre’s most valuable cards is one from this series.
Despite all of this, Brett Favre’s rookie cards are still an interesting mix that should remain of interest to anyone who followed ‘The Gunslinger’ throughout his entire twenty-year career in the NFL.
The Ultimate Guide to Brett Favre Rookie Cards: The Checklist
While we tend to think of a singular rookie card for a player, the modern era of sports cards often gives us a few different options for the year when a player comes into the league. We are not including any cards that have ‘rookie’ in the title that feature Brett Favre in his Green Bay Packers uniform. While that’s likely to make a card more popular, those are not true rookie cards so we’re going to skip them. We’ll start with the best of the best, go through the quirky choices, and then some of the misfires that don’t present the Hall of Famer in the best light.
1991 Action Packed Rookie Update Brett Favre #21 - The Gold Foil Card
The excellent 1991 Action Packed Rookie Update Brett Favre #21 card is from the short-lived Action Packed series of football cards. They were distinctive in a few ways. First, they had gold styling on them at a time when cards were just generally more basic and lacked the flash of holographic images, relics, or any kind of shine. Second, they had some crazy promotions offering solid gold cards if you found one of their special coupons for one, not unlike a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket. Action Packed was only around through the late 1999s, however, but they made some of the better cards from the 1990s.
Brett Favre never looked better than on this card during that slow rookie year. He’s actually on the field and in motion, much better than some of the other rather lackluster rookie cards from the same year. This one actually shows the Favre the world knows as a hard-working, committed QB who would set records with his consecutive starts. But no one knew he’d turn into a Hall of Fame-level player then since the Atlanta Falcons head coach didn’t see the potential in this young quarterback from Mississippi. His brief time on the field that year wasn’t encouraging, so you can’t judge that assessment too harshly. Little did they know what would happen when he got up to Wisconsin. The rest is history.
1991 Pro Set Brett Favre #762 - The Most Exciting Photo Rookie Card
This Pro Set “Official NFL Card” has a true action shot of Brett Favre on the field, looking in command as he rarely was for his one year with the Atlanta Falcons. Still, you can see the building confidence of the young signal caller who would later become a Super Bowl Champion with the Green Bay Packers. Favre would be an exceptional leader just one year later, driving his team to be one of the most dominant in NFL history.
The 1991 Pro Set Brett Favre #762 card is one of the most popular Brett Favre rookie cards, so you can expect to pay a pretty penny if you want a mint condition one in your collection. A PSA 10 Gem Mint copy will probably set you back several hundred dollars. Furthermore, there are not a lot of ungraded copies in the marketplace to pick up cheaply. If you’d like to track this one for a Hot Deal, make sure to add it to your Cardbase Watchlist.
1991 Star Pics Autographs Brett Favre #65 - The Autographed Rookie Card
This Star Pics card is popular with collectors because it was Favre’s first autographed card. While Favre would happily sign cards over the years, as you can see from the extensive collection available online, a signature from this early era is rarer since people didn’t know that he was about to become one of the most compelling quarterbacks we’d ever seen on the gridiron.
The design of 1991 Star Pics Autographs Brett Favre #65 is another quirky choice with a background border full of footballs that makes the card look appropriate for this era of unimaginative design. The card also uses the same shot of Favre on the field as on the 1991 Wild Card Draft card. Of course, it wasn’t easy to catch Favre on the field in 1991, so we’ll need to forgive the reuse.
Oddly enough, there’s inconsistency in the way the cards were signed. Some of them are signed on the back of the card instead of the front. Reports suggest this was just a result of a young Favre not realizing that you always sign sports cards on the front of the card. As a result, getting a graded copy with a verification of a signature certified by PSA or BGS is a good idea if you are looking into acquiring a copy of this collectible.
1991 Pro Set Platinum Brett Favre #290
While this is part of the Pro Set Platinum set, the base card we just discussed is a better-looking card in general. This one is an action shot but it’s not the best, with Favre partially covered by some hapless member of the L.A. Rams. Still, if you want a solid Brett Favre rookie card, you could do a lot worse than 1991 Pro Set Platinum Brett Favre #290. At least he’s not on the bench and his name is spelled correctly, which is not always the case as you’ll see further down the list.
Pricing-wise, this card falls in the middle-to-high range for this list. Graded copies in solid condition won’t set you back more than about $25. Sure, if you want a PSA 10 Gem Mint or the equivalent, they’ve gone for up to $200. Ungraded copies are not numerous, which is to be expected given the age of the card.
1991 Topps Stadium Club ‘Brett Farve’ #94 - The Misprinted Rookie Card
If I had to guess, this might be one of Brett Favre’s least favorite of his rookie cards. The reason is simple: Topps spelled his last name wrong. Although the spelling they used is phonetic (how it sounds), it’s not how you spell the quarterback’s name. This little quirk on 1991 Topps Stadium Club ‘Brett Farve’ #94, which doesn’t happen often, adds some interest from collectors since mistakes like this are usually corrected on later cards. The mistake is notably only on the title lines that are most prominent on the front and the back of the card. In the description text credited to The Sporting News, Favre’s name is spelled correctly in each instance. You can trust that oldest of sports reporting to get it right, even if a title designer could be confused by the proper pronunciation of a name. Of course, he wasn’t the Brett Favre that was a household name due to his incredible run with the Green Bay Packers at the time. Just five years later, he’d lead them to a big win in the Super Bowl.
Interestingly, there is a variant of this card that got reprinted for Super Bowl XXVI in 1992. This version of the card is rarer and has commanded a higher valuation when sold. In March 2021, a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy sold for over $6,000. Thankfully, if you look out in the marketplace, you’ll see that Favre looks to be happy to autograph copies of this misprint. Many are available for sale, with the expected increase in value as well.
1991 Wild Card Draft 1000 Stripe Brett Favre Rookie Card #119 - The Most Expensive Rookie Card
While other cards on this list will really show the crisis of visual design going on during the late 1980s and early 1990s, this 1991 Wild Card Draft 1000 Stripe Brett Favre Rookie Card #119 isn’t great. There are a lot of different fonts, colors, unreadable words, and a decent shot of Favre on the field. The picture is the one saving grace of this otherwise dizzying design; Favre looks great on the field, keeping his eye steady even as he moves in another direction. Personally, I already see the Gunslinger here in this great shot.
Technically, there were parallels of this card with the various numbers and options to trade in the variants like this one for base cards, but it was all pretty confusing. That said, this is one of Favre’s most expensive rookie cards because of the chaos of the parallel scheme at a time when this concept was still being expanded. With different values for the various versions, the “1,000” versions are the most valuable.
Thus, in July 2016, a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy of the card sold for over $10,000. With the falling number, the value declines, too. Later that same year, a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy of the “100” version of the card sold for just shy of $3,000. Values go down from there for the more common one and two digit versions (5, 10, 20, and 50).
As you can see, they are identical except for the number on the yellow stripe across the bottom left corner of the card. Thankfully, parallels and variants would get more interesting and distinctive in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
1991 Upper Deck Brett Favre #13 - The Star Rookie Benchwarmer Card
Perhaps 1991 Upper Deck Brett Favre #13 isn’t the ideal rookie card, but it does show how Brett Favre spent most of his first season in the NFL and why he surely jumped at the chance to head up to Wisconsin for his second year. No one is going to get too excited for a sports card of their favorite athlete on the bench, but it is part of the story of his career. Favre is better served by the title of the card being “Star Rookie” and the back of the card, which notes his many successes when he played college ball.
This card is still pretty available if you’re seeking a copy for your Brett Favre rookie cards collection. If you are shopping for an ungraded copy, you can find one for a dollar or two. Grading will increase its value considerably, though, with PSA 10 Gem Mint copies selling for $40 to $60 in recent days. Not bad for the bench warmer shot. Don’t worry, check out the next one to see how they captured him in a better light in the same series.
1991 Upper Deck Brett Favre #647 - The Rookie Force Card
While Upper Deck’s Star Rookie card from their 1991 set placed Brett Favre on the bench, this 1991 Upper Deck Brett Favre #647 Rookie Force card shows him in action. While the image shows a distressed, black-haired Brett Favre about to toss one a pass, it’s probably from a practice session because he has no helmet on. At least it shows him on the field and provides a good shot of his face without a helmet on. Plus, the card’s back is complimentary about his play before joining the NFL, just like the Star Rookie card. He put up impressive numbers during his college career, so seeing his potential that first year was possible.
This card is a bit more expensive than the previous card we listed, but not much. You can still find copies ungraded for just a few dollars. Graded copies will increase your pricing significantly, like any sports card. In the grand scheme of things, these are still shockingly small prices for the rookie card of a future Hall of Famer. If he was wearing the gold and green of the Packers, you can expect this card would be worth thousands of dollars.
1991 Score Brett Favre #611 - The Gunslinger Card
Brett Favre’s 1991 rookie card from Score isn’t going to win any design awards, but at least it shows him about to launch the ball from the powerful arm that would fire off passes during the most consecutive starts of any player in NFL history. You can see the Gunslinger in early action, which is welcome. Unfortunately, the design of 1991 Score Brett Favre #611 lets him down. The back of the card seems like it was typeset by a disinterested intern. At least his last name is both spelled correctly and its pronunciation is explained. That beats the “Farve” card further up the list.
With such a great action shot of this amazing player, the design elements can be overlooked. Indeed, collectors are doing just that since this card is among the more expensive ones to acquire in graded shape. While some recent sales have been below $100, PSA 10 Gem Mint copies have sold for up to $400. However, ungraded copies are widely available for a pittance. Just make sure you’re happy with the condition since a lot of cards of this era were not made of the strong materials we see these days. Keep an eye out for Hot Deals on the card’s dedicated Cardbase page if you want to get one for your collection.
1991 Pacific Brett Favre #551 - The 1990s Design Rookie Card
While this Pacific card does show Brett Favre in action, the look on his face might be his expression from looking at the design of this card. With a misguided color scheme and weird choices of fonts, plus a dated logo for the company, this is not the best rookie card to feature this legendary QB. You can almost see why people were buying fewer cards during this era and why the design of sports cards needed to be reinvented at the end of the decade.
Even so, 1991 Pacific Brett Favre #551 is still a rookie card for the ‘Gunslinger,’ one of the top quarterbacks of all time. If you are a completist, you are going to want this card for your collection. In graded condition, you can find this time capsule of a card for about $50. There aren’t a lot of ungraded copies out there, but with this pricing for graded cards, you can complete your Brett Favre collection without breaking the bank.
1991 Classic Brett Favre #30 - The Worst Brett Favre Rookie Card
We saved the worst for last. The 1991 ‘Classic Premiere Edition’ rookie card is by far and away the best example of how bad design can overtake a sports card in a big way. With insane font choices (and so many of them), a weird marbled background, the bizarre choice to place the image with a breakout of the frame so it could overlap copy and logo elements, 1991 Classic Brett Favre #30 is a modern graphic designer’s worst nightmare.
Brett Favre can’t like it much, either. The card has got him on the bench and looking fairly cranky. He’s neither playing nor closely monitoring the game for his chance to leap onto the field for a last-minute save. I guess he can appreciate that they shaved three pounds off his weight on the back of the card since every other card of the time has him listed at 220 pounds. But that’s probably just an error on the unappealing back of the card where collectors have to read the description around the hands and football in the background. What were they thinking when they put this card together?
This is also one of the most economical Brett Favre rookie cards. They’re easy to buy ungraded for about a dollar. Graded copies with the top-tier of ratings have climbed into the $40-$50 range for those hardcore Brett Favre fans who need to have everything that he’s been featured on.
Rookie Cards: The Legacy of Brett Favre
Brett Favre's impact on the NFL is immeasurable, with many observers suggesting he’s among the very best quarterbacks the league has ever seen. While his impact was felt during his years with the Green Bay Packers, his rookie cards remain highly sought after. The desire to collect them is not only for their monetary value here; instead, it’s mostly about the memories Favre’s cards evoke. They can also serve as a reminder that even the greatest among us can come from a humble start of a season on the bench. In the story of Favre’s exceptional career, perhaps he needed the humility of that experience to turn him into a committed, competitive leader who delivered so much success for the Packers. These cards help tell the story of that journey.
If you are investing in a collection of Brett Favre cards, the bottom line is that his Green Bay cards are going to get you more return on investment. If your collection is about showing off a monumental player through the years, some number of the cards on this list belong there. Take your pick and consider your budget for adding some of these rookie cards so you can recall the humble beginning of this legendary player. Happy hunting!
