In the summer of 1998, Detroit Lions superstar Barry Sanders was coming off of a season where he rushed for over 2000 yards, and marked his third straight season with 11 rushing touchdowns.  He was in the peak of his career.  Little did we know, the upcoming 1998 season would be his last.

In June of that year, Beckett Football Card Monthly published a story outlining the top 20 most expensive Barry Sanders cards.  The total cost to purchase those 20 cards was just over $11,000.  Obviously, the value of those cards is significantly higher today, but that isn’t the story I want to tell in this article. What I want to highlight is how the ranking has shifted for some of those “top 20” cards over the last 26 years.

As a bit of a disclaimer, I want to mention that I realize the current values below don’t necessarily express a one for one comparison since the 1998 values were all based on ungraded cards and some of the 2025 comparisons required graded sales.  However, I think we can still get some “directional” value out of the study.

The #1 card on the 1998 list came in with a value of $1,200.  While not a perfect comparison, a PSA 10 copy of this card recently sold for $17,700, putting it at 3rd on the current list.

One of the biggest drops in value on a percentage basis came from the 1997 Upper Deck Black Diamond Gold.  It was 18th on the list in 1998 with raw cards selling for about $300, but those same raw cards only sell for about $35 today.  That puts it at 20th on the current list.