2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady ROOKIE AUTO /100 BGS 8.5

Tom Brady’s 2000 Playoff Contenders /100 Championship Ticket Rookie Auto has withstood the test of time, remaining relevant in an ever-changing industry that always has something newer and flashier vying for people’s attention. As arguably the greatest football card ever produced, any of the 100 examples of this milestone production garners extreme attention when it hits the auction block. But when one as well preserved as this BGS 8.5 with a 10-grade auto becomes available, it sparks a flurry of activity from collectors. Only seven examples of this landmark issue have earned a BGS 9 label, with none graded higher by the service. For further context, there is only one PSA 9 example of this card and no 10s. That makes this BGS 8.5 one of the finest examples of one of the most famous sports cards ever produced. When Playoff released its Contenders product in January 2001, few collectors likely screamed and shouted after uncovering Brady’s rookie card. His future seemed murky at the time, as he sat solidly entrenched as the backup to Patriots star Drew Bledsoe and his $100 million contract. But after Bledsoe suffered an in-game injury on September 23, 2001, Brady trotted onto the field to finish the game—the first step in his rapid rise to superstardom. When writers at the Playoff Corporation praised Tom Brady’s “take-charge” attitude on the flip side of this 2000 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket Auto, they could not have imagined how “in charge” Brady would become. Nor could they have known that the /100 Championship Ticket parallel of that issue would charge to the mountaintop of modern football rookie cards. As New England’s sixth-round draft pick, Brady attended fewer flashy photo shoots, answered fewer prickly interview questions, and experienced fewer hand cramps from signing rookie cards than many of the quarterbacks selected ahead of him. Brady has only 11 mainstream autograph cards from 2000, unlike fellow quarterback Chad Pennington, a first-round selection who has a portfolio of rookie autos fivefold in size. Only four of Brady’s autographed cards from 2000 picture him in a Patriots uniform. That includes the 2000 Playoff Contenders /100 Championship Ticket Rookie Auto—the pinnacle of modern football collecting. Please note there are several light cracks stemming from the edges of this card's BGS holder. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 03/26/2025.