Will the joe namath rookie card Topps 1965 become the next Mantle 52?

[S_GERACE]

I think that the Namath already is the '52 Mantle of Football cards, but that's just it. I don't think that Football cards will ever reach the levels that Baseball cards currently enjoy. There are/were so many more Baseball cards printed than their Football counterparts but there are also many more collectors and while Football is far more popular than Baseball, the history of Baseball is more appealing to fans/collectors because so much more is known about early Baseball stars than Football stars.

This is also a double edged sword though because I think that Baseball cards will eventually lose a larger percentage of their value relative to Football cards. I think that the Baseball fan base is aging while Football popularity is still relatively young as it really began to boom in the late '50's and early '60's. I can honestly see the Baseball card market taking a "nosedive" in maybe 20 years (or less) as the "Baby Boomers" pass and leave their collections to younger relatives who will care little or nothing for a game that they find "slow & boring". As an example, and this is by no means scientific, I gave my nephew a binder full of Football cards and a PSA graded Topps Traded Albert Pujols RC. Recently I asked my brother if my nephew was trading cards yet (he is 9 yo) and my brother said that he takes his binder to school w/ him everyday. I then said to take the Pujols in as well to see if he could trade it to which my brother replied, "he did, but nobody wants Baseball cards".

Football cards will probably NEVER reach the levels currently enjoyed by Baseball cards & Baseball cards will most likely not hold their current levels either but I don't think that there will be a point in my lifetime where a Namath RC will trade hands for $400K.