In the football card hobby, Joe Burrow rookie card interest was high before he’d played his first game in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals. While his rookie season was cut short by a bad knee injury, his rookie cards remained hot property.
The best and most valuable Joe Burrow rookie card is his 2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card, but there are plenty of good alternatives, for all budgets, which I’ve covered below.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary - Top Picks
In a hurry? Here’s a summary of the top Burrow rookie picks. I’ve covered 14 of his best rookie cards, in more detail, further down.
For high budget:
- 2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph #156
- 2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Patch Autograph #1
For low/mid budget:
- 2020 Panini Prizm #307
- 2020 Panini Mosaic #201
The Best Joe Burrow Rookie Cards
Collectors have a wide variety of Burrow rookies to pick from, like with any modern marquee rookie, both signed and unsigned, with varying values and scarcity.
Burrow’s rookie cards were released in Panini football card packs across the 2020 season; Here’s an in-depth look at the best options:
2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Gems Joe Burrow #101
First on the list is the rarest Joe Burrow rookie card, the 2020 Panini Flawless card, which is limited to just 20 copies.
The premium release is one of Panini’s most expensive and sought-after products. Despite there being no signature or memorabilia swatch, the base card is embedded with a ruby gemstone.
The scarcity of this one is the major driver of its expensive price; There’s also a few more limited parallels, which feature a different gemstone.
The coveted 1-of-1 Platinum parallel version sold for $8.82k, back in 2023, graded a 9 by PSA.
2020 Panini Gold Standard Joe Burrow #101
The 2020 Panini Gold Standard Joe Burrow rookie has a nice, elegant look to it, and it’s another serial-numbered base option.
The holo foil stock, with the gold themed design, as the name suggests, is a big part of the premium and unique look.
Another big draw to this card is the limited print run of just 99 copies for the base version, with a few valuable parallels.
Despite being relatively rare, the base version isn’t expensive to buy, so I think it offers a good unsigned Joe Burrow rookie card option to collectors.
There are some autograph and relic Joe Burrow cards from the 2020 Gold Standard set, which are more premium alternatives to this one.
2020 Panini Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Joe Burrow #151
The 2020 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Joe Burrow card takes the already popular Donruss Rated Rookie design, and adds some optichrome, for a more premium look and feel.
The brand is generally a popular option for NFL card collectors each year, and this Joe Burrow rookie is one of his best.
The base version is mainstream and easy to find, which makes it low-value, but collectors have the array of parallel options, which add rarity and value.
Big value is found in some of the rarest parallel versions, and they’re among Burrow’s most valuable unsigned rookie cards.
A PSA 10 graded copy of the Gold Prizm parallel (/10) sold for $22.8k in 2022.
2020 Panini Prizm Joe Burrow #307
Panini Prizm is a go-to product for many collectors who want base rookie cards; Joe Burrow’s 2020 Panini Prizm rookie is one of his most sought-after and best first-year football cards.
Like the Optic rookie, the chrome base version is readily available, and entry-level in terms of value, but the wide range of parallels is a big reason for Prizm’s popularity in the hobby.
The parallels add color and varying levels of scarcity; The lowest-numbered and rarest parallel options are some of Burrow’s most desirable rookie cards.
Back in 2022, a PSA 9 graded copy of the Gold Prizm parallel version (/10) sold for $63k, which puts it among Joe Burrow’s most expensive rookie cards.
2020 Panini Spectra Joe Burrow #136
Panini Spectra is another premium chromium release; The 2020 Panini Spectra Joe Burrow rookie card is on the higher-end of the scale in terms of value for a base card.
You can expect to pay a lot more for the base version of this one than the Prizm and Optic base cards, for example, but it’s not as common as those cards, and the parallel offering is also smaller.
The card also has a high-quality feel and finish to it, and in my personal opinion, it’s one of Burrow’s best looking unsigned rookies.
2020 Panini Select Joe Burrow #46
Another popular Joe Burrow rookie card option, the 2020 Panini Select card.
Panini Select works on a tiered system in terms of scarcity, with 4 different base cards for every player. The first, and most common, is the Concourse card (#46), which is pictured above.
There’s also the Premier card (#146), the Club card (#246) and the Field card (#346), which is the rarest and most valuable of the base cards.
All 4 different base cards have differences in design and imagery, and all have their own set of parallel versions, with plenty of options for collectors to choose from.
2020 Panini Mosaic Joe Burrow #201
Panini Mosaic is a chromium release that has many similarities to the popular Panini Prizm set, with an emphasis on parallels; Collectors have a wide choice of refractor parallels to choose from in the Mosaic set.
Mosaic was a new NFL set in 2020, when this Joe Burrow rookie card was released, but the card designs resonate well with collectors, and have proven to be popular.
The base version is on the lower-end of the value scale for Burrow rookie cards, but there are a lot of parallels, with varying scarcity, which offer multiple different price entry-points for collectors, so, like Prizm, I would recommend it as a good set for any collector.
The 1-of-1 Nebula parallel version sold for as high as $73.2k in the past, which makes it one of the most valuable Joe Burrow rookie cards.
2020 Panini Absolute Kaboom! Joe Burrow #KJB1, #KJB2
The 2020 Panini Kaboom! Joe Burrow inserts make for a very sought-after option.
There are 2 different Kaboom cards in the Absolute set for Burrow, with different images used on each.
The bold, comic style designs of Kaboom! Cards have become hugely popular among sports card collectors.
Part of the appeal, that Kabooms have, is their rarity; The short print inserts were tough to pull from packs, and it makes them scarce today; Both base versions generally sell for over $5k, in the highest grades.
Both versions have Gold (/10) and 1-of-1 Green parallels, which are even more expensive; In 2022, a PSA 9 graded copy of the Gold parallel for the KJB2 card sold for $46.8k.
2020 Panini Donruss Optic Downtown Joe Burrow #DT40
The 2020 Panini Downtown Joe Burrow card is a similar alternative to his Kaboom rookies, because they share a lot of characteristics: A short print inset with an exciting design, that is very popular and valuable.
It mixes appealing artwork and scarcity to produce a popular, and expensive first-year Burrow card.
The base version doesn’t quite hold as much value as the Kaboom cards, but it’s still one of the most valuable Burrow rookie cards.
There’s only 1 parallel of this one: The 1-0f-1 Gold Vinyl version, which sold for $108k in 2022, to become one of Burrow’s most expensive football cards ever.
The Best Autographed Joe Burrow Rookie Cards
2020 Panini Contenders Optic Autograph Joe Burrow #101
Moving onto the Joe Burrow rookie cards that have high-premium features, and first up is the 2020 Panini Contenders Optic Rookie Ticket Joe Burrow autographed card.
The set’s ticket theme is well-known, and popular among collectors.
The on-card signature is the big appeal to this card, which contributes to its high price tag, despite the lack of serial-numbering on the base version.
The parallels add further color and value; A BGS 9.5 graded copy of the Gold parallel (/10) sold for $50.4k in 2022.
There is a variation version of the card as well, which is limited to 250 copies, and displays a different image of Burrow (one of him in action in the white Bengals uniform); It can also be identified by a circled “V” on the back of the card.
2020 Panini Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Signatures Joe Burrow #151
A premium version of the popular, and well-known, Rated Rookie design, for collectors with a bigger budget, is this autographed version of the 2020 Panini Donruss Rated Rookie Joe Burrow rookie card.
This autograph has appeal, but does have the slight downside of being a sticker signature, instead of a hard-signed autograph.
This one is limited to 150 copies, which helps drive the value higher.
There are parallel versions as well; The 1-of-1 Gold Vinyl parallel version sold for as much as $63.6k in 2022, graded PSA 9.
2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Patch Autograph Joe Burrow #1
The 2020 Panini Flawless set included this Joe Burrow RPA card, which is a premium and high-end Joe Burrow rookie.
This is easily one of the best and most valuable Joe Burrow rookie cards.
The jersey patch and signature are a big premium appeal for this card, and it’s serial numbered to just 25 copies, making it also one of the rarest Burrow rookies.
The nice stylish design, which is popular, and the high-quality feel and finish, mixed with the signature and swatch, make it a highly valuable option.
There are a few different, and even rarer, parallels for this one, plus some other similar patch autograph Burrow cards from the set.
2020 Panini Immaculate Collection Rookie Patch Autograph Joe Burrow #101
The 2020 Immaculate Collection Joe Burrow Rookie Card is another one of the most high-quality and premium options on the market.
With 99 copies, it’s hard to find, while also having a hard signature and patch swatch, similar to the Panini Flawless RPA card.
It also has a few highly limited, and more valuable parallel versions, like the most expensive 1-of-1 NFL Shield parallel, which are among Burrow’s most valuable football cards ever.
There’s also a similar Premium Patch Rookie Autograph card from the set, which is also numbered to 99 copies, and has its own set of low-numbered parallels.
2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph Joe Burrow #156
The last Burrow rookie on our list of the top Joe Burrow rookie card options is this 2020 National Treasures card, and for me, it’s the best.
It’s the most expensive Joe Burrow rookie card on the market, and the most desirable.
It holds the edge over the Panini Flawless and Immaculate RPA cards, because of the jumbo relic swatch, and also the brand prestige. National Treasures has a long history of being at the top of high-end football cards.
The base version is limited to 99 copies, and the hard-signed autograph, with the jumbo swatch and elegant design, tick all the boxes for a collector looking for the very highest quality of football cards.
A copy of the base card for this one sold for $210k, back in 2022, and the 1-of-1 Red parallel version sold for a huge $336k in the same year.
When Was Joe Burrow’s Rookie Season?
Joe Burrow’s rookie season was the 2020 NFL season – He was selected as the 1st overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft.
What Are Joe Burrow Rookie Cards Worth?
The price of a Joe Burrow rookie card varies depending on which of his rookie cards you buy.
The mainstream, and common base Joe Burrow rookie cards sell for less than $100, but the more premium cards, which might include an autograph or memorabilia swatch, can sell for as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What Is The Most Valuable Joe Burrow Rookie Card?
The 2020 Panini National Treasures Joe Burrow rookie card is his most expensive to buy.
A parallel version of the card sold for $336k back in 2022, and a base version sold for $210k in the same year.
The on-card signature, jumbo patch swatch, and limited print run of 99 copies are large contributors to the value, but the prestige of the National Treasures brand gives it the edge over similar Burrow rookie cards, like the 2020 Panini Immaculate Collection and the 2020 Panini Flawless RPA cards.
What Is The Rarest Joe Burrow Rookie Card?
The base 2020 Panini Flawless Joe Burrow rookie card is limited to just 20 copies, making it his rarest rookie card.
Joe Burrow: A Background
After an impressive college football career with LSU, where he led them to the CFP National Championship in 2019, Joe Burrow was the most coveted player in a quarterback-heavy rookie class.
Burrow went into the 2020 NFL draft as a Heisman award-winning, national champion quarterback, and was selected as the 1st pick by the Cincinnati Bengals – He was selected ahead of fellow rookie quarterbacks, like Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert.
