Events That Can Increase The Value of Memorabilia

By Dee Dee Smith

Sports collectibles can be both a great hobby and an investment.  In planning your collection, it’s important to know what factors influence the market value of sports memorabilia.

Fans drive the value of an athlete’s autograph.  If a sport has a lot of fans, the memorabilia for that sport will be more in demand and more valued.  Golf at one time was not a very popular spectator sport.  Although Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and others brought some notoriety to the sport, it was the popularity of Tiger Woods that gave the sport a larger fan base.  As a result, all golf memorabilia has become a popular and more valued collectible. 

The same holds true for team memorabilia.  Team popularity drives up the value of a team’s collectible merchandise.  Several factors play a role in sports team popularity.  One factor that can greatly improve the popularity of a team is a winning streak.  Realistically, people want to be associated with winners, thus teams that consistently win have steady or increased values for their collectibles.  Winning championships can also booster a team’s value.  This is evident as the demand for a team’s apparel or other collectibles skyrocket immediately following a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup or World Series win.  A great player or group of players can also bolster a team’s popularity.  Consider the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era.  Jordan greatly enhanced the team’s popularity and collectibles for the Bulls were highly desired by both fans and collectors.   

The death of a well known and respected athlete can bring about a sudden increase in the value of his or her autographed items.  One reason for this is simple economics.  Once a player is dead, he or she can no longer sign autographs limiting the supply of autographed memorabilia on the market.  Consequently, the rarity of the autograph makes collectors want it more and the demand naturally drives up the value.  After the death of an athlete, true fans also want to honor that player or have a memento of their career.  This also increases the value and price of that athlete’s memorabilia. 

Career longevity and a solid reputation make for high-value memorabilia.  Consequently, players who have retired with a solid and well respected career will typically see their values remain steady over the years.  However, when a retired athlete receives a career honor such as induction into  their respective sport’s hall of fame, the value of their autograph is sure to increase. 

Overall, the popularity of an athlete can positively or negatively affect the value of that athlete’s signature.  One way a player can become more popular is by an obvious improvement in or acknowledgement of their skills.  This might be by breaking a record, making a great play, defeating a tough opponent or winning an achievement.  In Super Bowl XLII, Wide Receiver David Tyree gained notoriety because of a miraculous catch involving securing the football atop his head, which made his signature much more valuable than it was prior to the game.  Group achievements can also increase the popularity of individual players.  Players on winning NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL championship teams share success when it comes to popularity.  Likewise, individual achievements such as Most Valuable Player, Cy Young Award recipient or winning Wimbledon can also greatly impact the worth of an athletes memorabilia. 

An increase in a player’s popularity due to outside ventures such as acting or charitable events can also increase their value.  Strangely, some negative events can also cause the cost of an athlete’s memorabilia to soar.  Who can forget the 1997 re-match between boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield?  In that match, Tyson became frustrated and bit off a portion of Holyfield‘s ear.  Immediately following that event, there was a great demand for Tyson memorabilia and the demand drove up the cost and value of this merchandise. 

Lastly, the passing of time brings about an increase in the value of sports memorabilia.  The principle here is supply and demand.  Fans tend to hold on to tickets and program events for a few years, but after time these items become misplaced or are thrown away.  Even if they are kept, too often they have become discolored, ripped or even brittle over time due to improper care and storage.  As a result, they are worthless to a collector.   For individuals who keep and properly protect these collectibles for twenty, thirty or even forty years, these items will increase considerably in value.    

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