I recently acquired this game-used Western Kentucky University football jersey of linebacker Chris Bullard, dated to either 2009 or 2010.

I picked up this jersey for a few reasons. First, it shows great signs of use. Bullard was a linebacker despite the low jersey number, and his playing intensity shines through the holes and scrapes and tears. Next, I got it for a solid price. Most importantly, the guy who wore this jersey has enjoyed an impressive life journey.

Bullard played both football and baseball in college, totaling 50 tackles across 11 games for WKU his senior year then turning around and slugging .500 on the diamond the following spring. Even better, he was drafted by the Braves in the 34th round of the 2011 MLB draft. He put up decent numbers for the Rookie-league GCL Braves but his Major League dreams faded. He then joined the Army and looks to be off doing big things. Kudos to him.

It’s been awhile since I’ve landed a game-used jersey, but I got back on the big board with this XFL gamer of Nate “Big Nate” Miller.

Miller played football at LSU and spent a few seasons as an offensive lineman in the NFL, seeing some playing time with the Falcons in 1997. After NFL teams stopped calling, Miller resurfaced in the XFL with the Los Angeles Xtreme. I photomatched this jersey to the 2001 XFL “Million Dollar Game”, making it the second game-worn jersey I own from the league’s lone championship game and my third LA Xtreme jersey. This would be the last jersey Miller ever wore in a pro football game.

According to his XFL player bio, “Big Nate” is an avid comic book collector. Maybe he’ll show up here one of these days?

Relic - Auto 🤝

It’s been a minute since I acquired a game-used football jersey but last week I nailed a special one.

I stumbled across this 2004 Kansas City Chiefs jersey of running back Derrick Blaylock on eBay and saw that the seller wisely (and accurately!) advertised it as photomatched to a Week 13 game against the Raiders in which Blaylock put up 74 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown. As many of you know, I don’t collect jerseys of big names—I collect jerseys of big moments—but I’ve yet to nab a game-used NFL jersey that’s seen the end zone. Factor in that the jersey was riddled with repairs and paint transfers, and I needed to have it.

The question was how much I was willing to pay—and if someone would be willing to pay more. From my experience, skill player jerseys from 1995-2005 that feature significant usage go for hefty sums. In the past year I’ve seen a 2005 Lamont Warren Raiders jersey go for $500, a 1997 Charles Way Giants jersey go for $800, and a 1999 Greg Hill Lions jersey go for $400, so I was ready to be priced out. The one thing working in my favor was that the seller set the auction to end at 12:15pm EST on a Saturday afternoon during March Madness, which is a time when bid snipers would be busy hanging with friends or running errands.

The seller made an even bigger error: He didn’t attempt to photomatch the jersey to additional games. Fellow Mantel users, if you learn one thing from me, please let it be: A jersey with repairs has been used in more than one game.

After I checked a Chiefs uniform history site and verified that the team wore white jerseys for all their away games in 2004, I pulled up Blaylock’s game log from that season and analyzed his road game stats. In the away game previous to the positive photomatch, a Week 10 showdown in New Orleans, Blaylock tallied 224 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown. Not only that, but it was his first career start and his career best game in terms of total output. I spent a couple hours searching for photos online and watched the game on YouTube, and although I couldn’t definitively photomatch from those sources, I knew that a jersey with this much damage was indicative of a game in which the player carried the ball 36 times.

I set a reminder, threw out a healthy bid with 1 minute remaining before auction close, and waited depressingly to see that dreaded sniper bid…and I won. But not only did I win—I ended up paying the least I’ve ever spent on a game-used NFL jersey. The football gods were smiling upon me.

After I received it through the mail, I had the opportunity to examine the jersey up close and saw the details that the seller’s photos didn’t disclose. Guess what? I was able to use the NFL broadcast of his monster game to photomatch the jersey thanks to multiple paint transfer markings that were a dead-on match. Not only that, but I also photomatched it to a Week 4 game against the Ravens (Getty Image 1266303497). Although I’ve verified he didn’t wear the jersey in the final game of 2004, I can prove he wore it for 3 (and almost certainly 5) games across the season. Here’s the statistical breakdown from those games:

Carries: 52
Rushing Yards: 252
Receptions: 8
Receiving Yards: 88
Total Touchdowns: 2
Tackled By: Champ Bailey, Ray Lewis, Charles Woodson, Ray Buchanan, Ted Washington
Number of Times Featured in an NFL Primetime Highlight: 1