We’re buying Shedeur Sanders cards, right?

I know…  I’ve been pretty consistent here with my lower-priced non-sports cards, but come on, people! The only threat to Sheduer Sanders not having a big pro career was him not getting drafted and then spending a year in the CFL or WWE. He’s on a team. He can win the starting job. 

Some of the smartest draft minds – and forget about Mel Kiper Jr. over the three-day draft; he was right, but they spent so much time on it that it became a cartoon – had Sanders as one of the Top 2 QBs. Consensus. Everywhere. He put up crazy numbers in college, scouts praised him, he had all the right attributes. 

And then he slid. 

And his card prices kind of slid with him. 

And after he was drafted? They went back up a little bit, but not to where they should be. People have jumped on the “Shedeur is bad” bandwagon hard – silly, foolish, airheaded Twitter people. But not us. If Shedeur wins the job, or finally starts in Week 5, or even starts in 2026? He is putting up NUMBERS. And after two 350 yard games, his cards will skyrocket. And everyone will race to delete tweets and revise history. And we’ll be holding his cards from way back in 2025 when nobody believed in him. 

There is a mini-problem, however. 

We live in a world where Bowman U cards still don’t stand on solid ground. I think they’re great – I’ve been a baseball card collector forever and I know the value of that Bowman 1st. I think in 15 years we’ll be looking back on the football/hoops versions and wishing we bought more, because they are the first cards of some legendary players. And with NFL cards a little fractured for now, and NIL deals letting someone sign almost anywhere, you need that one lighthouse in a sea of fog. I think that’s Bowman U. Maybe we just don’t realize it at the moment. 

My search the last few days has been “Shedeur Sanders Bowman auto” and then sort by lowest price. These are $200 cards going for $75-80. I then pop over the PSA 10 Sanders searches (and very importantly “-now” to get rid of the Topps Now graded cards), and see what’s out there. I’ll do the usual hearting for the watchlist and see if I get a 20% off offer. 

I did not anticipate having a Shedeur Sanders budget this month for my cards. After he didn’t get picked on Friday, I also dropped an unanticipated $20 on him to be voted OROY at 30-1 odds (they dropped to 15-1 after he was picked). These things happen, though. Shedeur Sanders budgets are what make this so much fun. I could be wrong. 30 draft analysts and scouts could also be wrong. The Browns could be wrong. 

But I don’t think so. 

I’ve made larger mistakes in my card-buying career, but in football, the name of the game is Quarterback. And if you can find one with a giant market dip like Sanders right now? Get something better than a common card, get it in good condition, and the high will be much higher than if you go timid with just a regular Chrome 1st. 

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On the flip side of Sanders is Cam Skattebo. There’s some rise left in his cards, but not much. RB cards don’t hold especially well and the Giants have Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary on the roster. Skattebo isn’t beating Tracy out for the job – Tracy was drafted by this same regime and had a great rookie season. So, at best, maybe Skattebo splits time and has a couple 8/80 games with a big run or two. That lack of playing time will sink a card fast. 

But he has hype right now, and so if you happened upon a Skattebo autographed card before, now is probably the time to sell. It feels good – big market, rabid Sun Devils fanbase, white guy RB – but by November he will likely be splitting time, at best. 

$20 for a PSA 10? Fine. $20 for a PSA 9? No thank you. 

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Here’s the Skattebo Twist (also the name of a weird sex move I cannot get into here) – when they sink in November? I’d buy them up again. There’s a future there, it’s just buying at the right time. Now is not it. 

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It’s time for our “fast food” portion of Mail Day. You know you love it. 

A quick update on the Wendy’s toys we mentioned two weeks ago — I have been pretending to have an extra kid to get a kids meal for myself. The toys are cool and probably one of the better cost propositions you can get in a kids meal – you get three in a box AND little mini cards explaining who they are (there are some obscure DC characters in there). I don’t quite have the enthusiasm of this guy reviewing them, but I have suggested we “go to Wendy’s” more often than I ever have in the past. 

You may be asking – “What’s the end game here, Fickle?” Guess what – they’re just cool looking and colorful and I can put them on my shelf – my kids’ shelves! 

I will not be paying $70 for a set. That’s Shedeur Sanders money!

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One more fast food hit. 

Remember a few weeks ago when Suni Lee was at a Knicks game and OG Anunoby coincidentally had a crazy game? Here’s a refresher!

This, of course, isn’t about Anunoby cards – it’s about Suni Lee stickers! Because Suni Lee doesn’t have any cards – not even SI For Kids! But she does have a sticker that was only available in McDonald’s Happy Meals. 

It sells for about $5 and you can get the foil version for $15 maybe? And as silly as it may seem, I’m kind of into it. Suni Lee courtside at Knicks games could just be a harbinger of Suni Lee all over the place. She has 3.4 million Instagram followers, she’s in a Dick’s commercial, she’s really good at gymnastics, she was already on Dancing With the Stars. If Simone Biles is out of the 2028 Olympics, Suni Lee is your household name in a marquee event in her own country. Entire sides of buildings will be covered by her picture. 

Spend the $5 now. Maybe even spend the $15 now. Get the sticker graded. Put it in a little box with your new Shedeur cards, and bury it under a big oak tree at the north end of a long rock wall. Open it up in May 2028 and prepare to sell. 

We’re buying SI For Kids cards – is it that big of a stretch to think a market could be created for a sticker from a Happy Meal? Especially one made by the biggest sticker company?

That wraps it up for me this week! I hope this was helpful, and some day maybe I’ll start a sub-newsletter of all the things Mantel’s CEO made us edit out of this one. There’s enough for at least one edition! (Although JR Fickle likes to work blue).

Until then… good luck!