Tom Brady has acquired the single rarest rookie card belonging to Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, paying what he called a life-altering amount of money for the one-of-one collectible. Brady says the card, a Topps NOW “My 1st NFL Auto” autographed piece, is now tucked away with him in a safe place, and he hopes it brings good luck to the franchise he partly owns.
The purchase was first reported by the New York Post, which detailed how Brady spent weeks — possibly close to a month — negotiating with the card's previous owner, a collector based in the southwest United States, before finalizing the deal days before Fanatics Fest began in mid-July. The exact price was not disclosed, but the Post reported Brady paid a hefty cash sum along with an autographed jersey to close the transaction. Chris Costa, described as a business partner of Brady's, called it the most expensive Mendoza card ever sold, according to the same report.
The card traces back to a Topps NOW real-time draft program from April 2026, when Topps printed cards for draft picks within 90 seconds of their names being called on stage and had the players sign them on the spot with the custom “My 1st NFL Auto” inscription, a process detailed by EVORETRO. Mendoza's print-on-demand version of the card drew more than 126,000 orders in its 48-hour ordering window, but only one carried the true one-of-one autograph that Brady eventually tracked down and bought.
A Heisman Winner Turned No. 1 Pick
Mendoza arrived in Las Vegas as the second-ever No. 1 overall draft pick in Raiders franchise history, joining quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who went first overall in 2007, according to NFL.com. The Raiders landed the top selection after finishing 3-14 during the 2025 season, and they used it on Mendoza after his Heisman Trophy-winning campaign at Indiana, where he completed 71.5 percent of his passes for 2,980 yards, 33 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading the Hoosiers to a 16-0 national championship, per Sports Illustrated. Mendoza was Indiana's first Heisman winner and had transferred there after three seasons at California.
On July 23, Mendoza signed a four-year, fully guaranteed $57.27 million rookie contract with a fifth-year option, inking the deal the same day draftees reported to training camp in Henderson. He now wears No. 15 for the Raiders, but a record-setting paycheck hasn't guaranteed him the starting job. Veteran Kirk Cousins opened camp as Las Vegas's projected Week 1 starter, a dynamic Hoodline detailed in its report on Cousins holding the QB1 job while the rookie waits his turn under head coach Klint Kubiak.
Rough Preseason Outings for the Rookie
Mendoza's on-field preseason has been bumpy so far. The Raiders lost to the Arizona Cardinals 27-14 at Allegiant Stadium on August 13, and in his second preseason start on Thursday against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Mendoza completed 8 of 15 passes for 86 yards and threw an 80-yard pick-six before being pulled for the second half. Those struggles arrive even as the rookie's off-field market value keeps climbing.
Brady displayed Mendoza's one-of-one card at Fanatics Fest and has praised the rookie's work ethic and his family, according to the Post's report. He and the card's previous owner reportedly plan to meet again at a future CardVault by Tom Brady location — the retail chain in which Brady holds a 50 percent ownership stake. That business has expanded from six stores to 17 locations nationwide as of August, according to PR Newswire, which also reported CardVault recently announced a new strategic investor group including Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter and Boston Globe Media CEO Linda Henry.
Brady's Ties to the Raiders and the Card Market
Brady's interest in Mendoza's rookie card is inseparable from his formal stake in the Raiders. NFL owners unanimously approved his purchase of a 5 percent personal minority stake in the franchise in October 2024, a process that took 17 months to clear amid league finance committee questions over valuation discounts and Brady's role as a Fox broadcaster, according to Front Office Sports. Hoodline covered that balancing act last year in a piece on Brady defending his ownership-broadcaster dual role, and questions about that arrangement remain an active point of attention as he juggles media duties with ownership responsibilities.
The Mendoza purchase is also a modest sum next to Brady's own trading-card legacy. His 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Autograph rookie card sold for more than $3.1 million at auction in June 2021, making it the second-most valuable football trading card ever sold, per Sports Illustrated. CardVault's broader business has grown fast alongside these headline-grabbing deals, posting 400 percent revenue growth from 2025 to 2026, with executives eyeing 40 locations by 2028 and up to 100 nationwide, according to Heavy Sports, which noted the chain favors high-traffic spots like Gillette Stadium and Town & Country Village in Palo Alto.
For now, Mendoza's card sits with Brady rather than on display in any CardVault case, a keepsake the co-owner hopes will translate into on-field fortune for the Raiders. Whether that luck shows up before Mendoza takes over the starting job from Cousins remains an open question — one that training camp and the rest of the preseason should start to answer.
