Going into 2022, Brock Purdy cards were not expected to be anything to shout about, in-fact he wasn’t featured in many of the early season releases, but unsurprisingly interest in his rookie cards gained a lot of steam after his breakout for the 49ers.
In my opinion, the best Brock Purdy rookie card is his Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card, but there are other great options, for lower budgets; I’ve covered all the top Purdy rookie cards, below.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary - Top Picks
The Best Brock Purdy Base Rookie Cards
While Brock Purdy’s overall rookie card offering is more limited than other top quarterbacks from the 2022 NFL rookie class, Purdy does have a selection of rookie cards, autographs and first-year inserts for collectors to choose from.
Here are all the best picks:
2022 Donruss Elite Brock Purdy #185
The 2022 Donruss Elite Brock Purdy rookie card has 999 numbered copies at base level, with multiple additional parallels, which add color, foil and die-cuts, that offer differing price points for collectors.
As one of the earliest sets from the 2022 season, the image doesn’t feature Purdy in 49ers uniform, and while the image might let the card down a bit, it’s still a solid rookie option.
2022 Panini Certified Brock Purdy #181
A premium brand and a base card numbered to 399 copies, the 2022 Certified Brock Purdy rookie card offers collectors a classy design, with the inclusion of foil.
While the base version is somewhat limited, the array of Mirror parallels takes the total card number much higher, and add color as well as further value.
2022 Panini Black Brock Purdy #200
Unlike the two options listed above, the 2022 Panini Black Brock Purdy base rookie card isn’t serial-numbered, but it’s still tough to find.
The high-end product has just one base card per box, for a 200-name checklist, so there isn’t an abundance of these available.
The parallel offering is also limited, with a handful of low-numbered options.
2022 Panini Prizm Brock Purdy #353
In my opinion, the 2022 Panini Prizm Brock Purdy card is his best unsigned rookie option, and the rarest parallel versions are among his most expensive football cards.
Prizm is a staple sports card brand for rookie cards, and something many love about it, including me, is the large selection of parallel options, with varying levels of scarcity.
It means there’s something for all budgets, starting with the low-cost and mainstream base card, to the low-numbered parallels.
Back in 2023, the coveted 1-of-1 Black Shimmer parallel version sold for $50k, graded PSA 9.
The collectability of the brand, and the appeal of the parallel options, makes Prizm a good option for Brock Purdy rookie cards.
2022 Panini Mosaic Brock Purdy #367
A brand that follows a similar concept to Prizm, Panini Mosaic offers nice designs and readily available base chromium cards that come with a massive parallel offering, for a tougher and more expensive chase.
The reason why Panini decided to edit Purdy’s right foot out of the image featured on the card is anybody’s guess, but the 2022 Mosaic Purdy rookie is a popular option.
2022 Donruss Optic Brock Purdy #277
Another chromium base card option, but combined with the timeless appeal of the Rated Rookie brand, the 2022 Dornuss Optic Brock Purdy rookie card is a top mid-tier option.
It’s similar to the Prizm rookie, with numerous parallel options, some numbered, offer the chase element, and more value.
2022 Panini Spectra Brock Purdy #198
The 2022 Spectra Purdy rookie card is similar to the Panini Black card of his, because it’s not serial-numbered, but it’s not easy to find, and for similar reasons.
The high-end brand focuses on premium autograph and memorabilia hits, so base cards are very much secondary and not abundant in packs.
It’s a chrome option with a noticeable more premium and thick card stock than brands like Prizm.
There’s also numerous parallel options, which add bold patterns and even more color.
This one is probably my personal favorite base Purdy rookie, in terms of look, but it doesn’t come as cheap as some of the mainstream alternatives.
2022 Panini Select Brock Purdy #213 (Club Level), #493 (Field Level)
As always with the Select brand, the 2022 Panini Select football set offers multiple tiered base cards that become progressively rarer.
There are five levels of base cards – Concourse (the most common), Premier Level, Club Level, Suite Level, and finally Field Level (the rarest). Some players are included in more tiers than others, but Purdy has 2 different base cards from the set – Club Level and Field Level.
The Field Level option is the rarer and more valuable of the two cards, but both feature unique designs, with their own large set of parallel options, which hold more value, like the case-hit Zebra Prizms.
2022 Donruss Optic Downtown Brock Purdy XRC #DT-BP
The Downtown insert from the 2022 Donruss Optic is one of the key first-year Brock Purdy cards, and one of the most popular and valuable unsigned Purdy rookies.
The SSP card is one of the tougher unsigned Purdy rookies to come-by, because of its rarity.
Downtown’s card designs generally resonate well with collectors, and are sought-after cards, so the popularity mixed with scarcity makes for a valuable option.
There are a handful of low-numbered parallels, including a couple of 1-of-1 options – All four parallels hold much more value than the already expensive base version.
In 2023, a PSA 10 graded copy of the Gold parallel (/10) sold for $30k.
The Best Brock Purdy Rookie Autograph Cards
2022 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph Brock Purdy #200
This card sits firmly on the highest-end of the premium scale; The National Treasures brand carries plenty of clout in the NFL card hobby, and the centerpiece of the product is the Rookie Patch Autograph cards.
For me, and many other collectors, this is the Brock Purdy rookie card to have; It’s the best and most valuable option.
This 2022 National Treasures Brock Purdy RPA is for collectors with the biggest budget.
The on-card autograph and large material patch, with a base print run of just 99 copies, is what the brand has become known for, and it’s no different for this one.
The base version will cost a lot itself, but the numerous lower-numbered parallels are even more valuable and tougher to find than the base version.
In 2024, the 1-of-1 Platinum NFL Shield parallel version sold for $134.2k, graded BGS 8.5.
2022 Panini Flawless Rookie Patch Autograph #RPABP
The National Treasures RPA card is the king of Purdy’s premium rookie card options, but this 2022 Panini Flawless RPA is a close second.
It’s one of the top, most expensive, Brock Purdy rookie cards.
The card features a hard-signed autograph, relic piece (which is smaller than the NT card), and the base version is actually rarer, with only 25 numbered copies.
There are 6 different numbered parallel options, including the 1-of-1 Platinum NFL shield parallel, which sold for $80.5k in 2023.
2022 Contenders Optic Autograph Brock Purdy #146
In my personal opinion, this Contenders Optic autographed Brock Purdy rookie card represents the best option, for collectors who want a premium rookie, but haven’t got the budget for the super-premium Rookie Patch Autograph cards.
This one has the brand appeal, as well as the appealing signature; The downside is that the autograph is a sticker, and not on-card, but overall it’s one of his best first-year football cards.
There are parallel versions, which add color and rarity; The elusive 1-of-1 Gold Vinyl parallel version sold for $21.1k in 2024, graded PSA 9.
2022 Donruss Optic Rated Rookies Autographs Brock Purdy #277
The Donruss Optic Rated Rookies autographed Brock Purdy card takes the base card design and adds the signature, to give extra appeal.
It gives an alternative option to the regular base version, for collectors who want the Rated Rookies brand and have a bit more to spend.
It’s one of the more accessible premium autographed Purdy rookies.
The selection of numbered parallels add some color and rarity; A PSA 10 graded copy of the Purple parallel (/35) sold for $13k, in 2024.
2022 Panini Spectra Rookie Autographs Brock Purdy #40
The first NFL autograph card to show him in his main 49ers uniform, this 2022 Spectra Rookie Autographs Purdy card is one of the key signed rookie-year options.
The premium brand and low print run of just 99 base copies adds to the desirability, and it also features a nice design.
There are numerous lower-numbered parallels as well.
When Was Brock Purdy’s Rookie Season?
Brock Purdy’s rookie season was the 2022 NFL Season – He was selected as the 262nd overall pick (last) in the 2022 NFL Draft.
What Is The Most Valuable Brock Purdy Rookie Card?
The most valuable and expensive Brock Purdy rookie card to buy is his 2022 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card.
The on-card signature, jumbo relic piece, and rarity all contribute to its high value; The base version is limited to only 99 copies, and has sold for as much as $21.3k before.
The parallel versions are even more valuable; The 1-of-1 Platinum NFL Shield parallel version sold for $134.2k in the past.
Brock Purdy: A Background
From Mr. Irrelevant to Mr. Relevant, Brock Purdy went from being the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, with little interest in the football card hobby, to leading the way as San Francisco’s young star quarterback – With a story arc that Hollywood would be proud of.
Timing can be a massive thing in sport, and it couldn’t be more true for Purdy, who got his opportunity, after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, and he made the most of it, which led to the revised nickname of Mr. Relevant.
Purdy, and the 49ers, narrowly lost Super Bowl LVIII, to the Kansas City Chiefs; He became the lowest drafted quarterback to start a Super Bowl.
