Josh Allen’s card market has reached a level that forces a real conversation in the football hobby. For years, Patrick Mahomes has been the modern benchmark, combining elite on-field success with some of the biggest sales the sport has ever seen. In 2026, Allen has made that hierarchy far less certain.
The Buffalo quarterback has turned a strong collector following into one of the hottest football markets in the hobby. With two million-dollar card sales in 2026 and a two-year market rise that has outpaced Mahomes, Allen is no longer just chasing the top tier. He is operating inside it.
That does not automatically make him the unquestioned king of football cards. Mahomes still owns the biggest football card sale ever recorded, and his market has continued to appreciate even without the same level of recent hobby fireworks. Still, Allen’s momentum has become impossible to ignore, especially at the high end.
Josh Allen’s 2026 Surge Has Changed the Conversation
Allen’s rise in the card market has been building, but 2026 pushed it into a different category. The biggest headline is simple: he recorded two million-dollar card sales in the same year. That matters in any sport, but in football it stands out even more because seven-figure sales have historically been rare.
For more collector background, read Top 3 Football Card Sales of the Week: Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Walter Payton.
Before Allen’s latest run, the football card market had gone more than two years without a million-dollar sale. His return to that threshold, and then doing it twice, signaled that elite buyers are willing to treat Allen’s top cards like cornerstone assets rather than speculative upside plays.
That kind of action changes perception quickly. It moves a player from being one of the strongest quarterbacks in the market to someone collectors seriously compare with the most established names in the sport. In Allen’s case, that means Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
There is also a timing element working in his favor. Allen’s on-field profile has continued to grow since his 2024 MVP season, and exciting quarterback play tends to bring more energy into the hobby than steady team success alone. The market often responds not only to championships, but also to visibility, highlight value, and the feeling that a player is at the center of the sport’s weekly conversation.
For another perspective on this story, read Josh Allen’s Card Market Is Charging Hard, but Patrick Mahomes Still Owns the Throne Room.
The Million-Dollar Card That Elevated Allen
One of the headline pieces in Allen’s market is his 2018 Panini National Treasures Josh Allen NFL Shield Autograph rookie card, card number 163, graded PSA 8.5. A one-of-one National Treasures Shield rookie autograph is exactly the kind of card that can define a player’s market at the highest tier.
National Treasures remains one of the hobby’s most important brands for modern NFL quarterbacks, and one-of-one Shield rookie autos sit near the top of the category hierarchy. When collectors and investors want the most iconic modern rookie card formats, these are the kinds of cards that lead the discussion.
Allen’s ability to push cards of that caliber into seven figures twice in one year says a lot about buyer confidence. It suggests that the market is not simply rewarding a hot streak or chasing headlines for a few weeks. Instead, top-end collectors appear comfortable valuing Allen alongside the biggest names football cards have produced in the modern era.
Patrick Mahomes Still Holds the Strongest All-Time Football Card Sale
Even with Allen’s major push, Mahomes still owns the single largest football card sale on record. His 2017 National Treasures Shield RPA 1/1, graded BGS 8.5 with an Auto 10, sold for $4.3 million. That number remains the mountain every modern football player is trying to reach.
That record matters because it shows what Mahomes has already proven in the hobby. He is not just a player with broad demand or solid liquidity. He has already delivered the kind of transcendent sale that places him in a historic category.
Mahomes also brings a level of resume security that few active players can match. Multiple championship runs and sustained relevance have made him a long-term pillar in football collecting. Even if the current hobby conversation feels more energized around Allen, Mahomes remains the standard for established greatness among active quarterbacks.
For many collectors, that distinction is important. Allen may have the hotter short-term momentum, but Mahomes still has the stronger case when the debate shifts from current trend to total body of hobby work.
How the Two-Year Market Growth Compares
One of the clearest ways to frame the current debate is through recent market performance. Over the last two years, Mahomes’ card market has risen more than 69 percent. That is a significant gain by any standard, especially for a player who was already priced like a hobby superstar.
Allen’s growth over that same period has been even more dramatic. His market is up 111.47 percent over two years, roughly doubling the growth seen by Mahomes in that span. That kind of move stands out because it shows Allen is not simply benefiting from a short burst at the ultra-premium level. The broader market around him has also appreciated aggressively.
Those numbers help explain why the conversation has become more serious in 2026. Mahomes is still growing, which means collectors have not lost interest in him. Allen, however, is growing faster, and he has paired that rise with headline-grabbing trophy sales that keep reinforcing his status.
When a market combines strong index movement with seven-figure sales, it becomes very difficult to dismiss as temporary noise.
Why Allen Is Gaining Hobby Momentum
Allen’s appeal in the hobby goes beyond raw performance metrics. He checks several boxes that often matter in quarterback collecting.
First, he has the kind of playing style collectors gravitate toward. Dynamic quarterbacks tend to generate stronger hobby energy because they create memorable moments and remain central to the league’s weekly spotlight. Allen’s game is big, visible, and highly marketable.
Second, his 2024 MVP season gave the market a clear achievement point to rally around. Individual awards often strengthen a player’s collecting profile because they provide a lasting credential beyond weekly production.
Third, Allen appears to be benefiting from novelty at the top end. The hobby has spent years pricing Mahomes as the premier active football card star. Allen’s recent rise gives elite buyers a new centerpiece to chase, especially those who want to acquire a top quarterback before the market becomes even more established.
That does not mean collectors are moving on from Mahomes. It does mean Allen has become the more explosive storyline.
Why Mahomes Has Not Been Dethroned Completely
Calling Allen the new hobby king would still be too simple. The strongest case against a full takeover is that Mahomes continues to hold advantages in both legacy and market depth.
His top sale remains far ahead of Allen’s known headline results, and his position in football collecting has been reinforced over a much longer stretch. That matters because sustained value is often more important than a single year of accelerated momentum.
There is also a difference between spectacular high-end sales and the health of a player’s broader card ecosystem. Allen has posted eye-catching gains and major premium sales, but Mahomes’ more liquid cards still carry substantial strength. In other words, Allen may be winning some of the biggest headlines right now, while Mahomes still looks stronger across a wider base of the market.
That is an important distinction for collectors. The top 1 percent of a player’s card market can move quickly, especially when a major card surfaces. A deeper market leader is usually the player whose demand remains strong across multiple tiers, from rare flagship rookies to premium autographs and key graded issues.
What This Means for Football Card Collectors
The Allen-Mahomes debate highlights a bigger truth about football cards in 2026: the market is rewarding both proven greatness and rising excitement, but not always in the same way.
For collectors focused on long-term stability, Mahomes still offers the strongest combination of historical sale power, championship credibility, and established collector trust. His market is not fading. It is still posting major gains, even if it is doing so with less drama.
For collectors chasing momentum, Allen has become one of the most compelling names in the entire hobby. He has the recent growth curve, the award résumé boost, and the high-end sales activity that can attract both seasoned buyers and newer entrants looking for a modern quarterback centerpiece.
That split can create different strategies. Some collectors may see Mahomes as the safer elite hold and Allen as the hotter upside play. Others may decide Allen has already crossed into true blue-chip territory and deserves to be viewed alongside the most important active football markets without qualification.
The Current Answer: Yes and No
If the question is whether Allen has overtaken Mahomes in recent buzz and high-end momentum, the answer is clearly yes. Two million-dollar sales in one year and a two-year rise of 111.47 percent have pushed him into the center of the football card world.
If the question is whether Allen has surpassed Mahomes across the full market, the answer is much less certain. Mahomes still owns the sport’s biggest card sale, and his broader market remains exceptionally strong with more than 69 percent growth over the last two years.
What 2026 has proven is that Mahomes no longer stands unchallenged among active football quarterbacks in the hobby. Allen has created a real race at the top, and every major sale, playoff push, and marquee performance from either player now has the potential to reshape the market again in a hurry.
For collectors watching the quarterback market closely, that makes Allen one of the most important names in football cards right now, while Mahomes remains the established measuring stick every rival still has to beat.
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