Jefferson rookie cards have had their fair share of interest in the NFL card hobby, since he came to the NFL.
In my opinion, the best Justin Jefferson rookie card is his 2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card, which is also the most expensive to buy.
However, collectors have a wide range of options, with different price entry points; I’ve covered all the top picks, below.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary - Top Picks
For Low Budget:
– 2020 Panini Prizm #398
For Mid Budget:
– 2020 Panini Contenders Optic Autograph #109
For High Budget:
– 2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph #170
The Best Justin Jefferson Rookie Cards
There’s a lot of choice for collectors, with rookie cards from a variety of Panini sets.
There’s also a variety of price-entry points and rarity of his different rookies; Here’s an in-depth look at the best Justin Jefferson rookie cards:
2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Gems Justin Jefferson #110
The 2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Gems Justin Jefferson is his rarest base rookie card, limited to just 20 copies.
Panini Flawless is considered a premium NFL release, and the set contains some of Panini’s most expensive and sought-after products.
While there isn’t a signature or memorabilia swatch on this Jefferson rookie, the card is embedded with a ruby gemstone, which offers something unique.
The scarcity of this card is one of the major drivers of its expensive price, as well as the Flawless brand prestige; There’s also a few, more limited, parallels which are embedded with different gemstones.
2020 Panini Donruss Optic Jefferson #163
The Donruss Optic set gives an optichrome finish, similar to sets like Panini Prizm, to the standard Donruss release, resulting in a higher-end option for collectors.
The flagship Rated Rookie release is a popular one, and this Optic version, with the chromium finish, is one of the most popular unsigned Justin Jefferson rookie cards.
The base version is easy to get hold of, and low-value, but there’s a wide array of parallel options with this one, which vary in scarcity levels; They offer collectors multiple price-entry points.
2020 Panini Prizm Justin Jefferson #398
Panini Prizm is one of the most popular yearly NFL card releases, so it comes as no surprise that the rookie cards from the set are often some of the most sought-after.
The base 2020 Panini Prizm Justin Jefferson offers collectors a optichrome base card option, which is easy to get hold of, and not expensive to buy.
Prizm is well-known for the plethora of parallels it releases. Like the Donruss Optic card, the value and rarity is found in the parallel versions, with varying scarcity.
The rarest and lowest-numbered parallel options are among the most valuable Justin Jefferson football cards.
The coveted 1-of-1 Black Finite parallel sold for $57.6k in 2023, graded PSA 9 by PSA, making it one of Jefferson’s most valuable cards.
2020 Panini Gold Standard Justin Jefferson #118
The 2020 Panini Gold Standard Justin Jefferson rookie card has an air of elegance about it, which is largely down to the gold themed holo foil stock.
Gold standard has a premium feel to it, and it makes for a popular rookie card choice.
It’s one of the few base Jefferson rookies which is serial-numbered, with only 99 copies; I would say that gives it added appeal over some of the alternatives.
There are some rarer parallel versions for this one as well.
2020 Panini Mosaic Justin Jefferson #209
Panini Mosaic debuted as an NFL set in 2020, when this Justin Jefferson rookie card was released.
Collectors quickly took to the set, and it became a popular option, with many similarities to flagship sets like Panini Prizm.
Like the Prizm card, the mainstream base version is easy to get hold of, but higher value and rarity is found in the wide selection of parallel options.
2020 Panini Select Justin Jefferson #61, #161, #261 & #361
Another popular chromium Justin Jefferson rookie card option is from the 2020 Panini Select set, and there’s actually 4 unique base card options for Jefferson.
2020 Select works with a tiered base card system: 4 different base cards, which vary in scarcity.
The first, and most common, is the Concourse card (#61) which is pictured above. There’s also then the Premier card (#161), the Club card (#261) and the Field card (#361). The cards get progressively rarer, with the Field card being the hardest to find.
The 4 unique base cards have differences in design and imagery, and all have their own set of parallel versions, with a wide choice of options for collectors to choose from.
2020 Panini Absolute Justin Jefferson #168
The 2020 Panini Absolute Justin Jefferson is in the category of a ‘budget option’ for one of his rookie cards.
The Chromium card is popular though, and offers a good cheap option for collectors who want a Jefferson rookie card.
There’s also numerous parallels for collectors to consider, which hold a bit more value.
The Best Autographed Justin Jefferson Rookie Cards
2020 Panini Contenders Optic Autograph Justin Jefferson #109
Entering the higher-end autographed options, this Contenders Optic Autograph Rookie Ticket card is one of the most sought-after Jefferson rookie cards.
The popular ticket theme, with the optichrome finish that the Optic set brings, is well-known, and popular among collectors.
While the base version isn’t serial-numbered, it was a super short print card, and it does include the big appeal of an on-card signature, so it holds good value.
The small selection of parallels add color, rarity and further value; A PSA 10 graded copy of the Cracked Ice parallel version (/22) sold for $6.4k in 2024, which makes it one of Jefferson’s most valuable rookie cards.
2020 Panini Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Signatures Justin Jefferson #163
The 2020 Donruss Optic Football set includes this hard-signed, and chromium, Justin Jefferson Rated Rookie card.
I think it offers one of the best signed Jefferson rookie card options, which is helped by the brand popularity.
The limited print run of 150 copies contributes to this card’s high value, but the addition of a signature to the popular Rated Rookie line is the big draw.
There are some parallel versions of this one as well, including the 1-of-1 Gold Vinyl version, which sold for $8.05k in 2021, graded 9 by PSA.
2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Patch Autograph Justin Jefferson #RPAJJE
The 2020 Panini Flawless Rookie Patch Autograph card is one of Justin Jefferson’s most sought-after, and expensive, rookies, for the collectors who have the bigger budget for it.
The Flawless brand is a super-premium football card release, and the addition of the jersey patch and signature, help make it one of the most expensive to buy.
While it doesn’t have the same pull as the National Treasures RPA, it offers a perfect less-expensive alternative, in my opinion, although it still isn’t cheap.
The base version is limited to just 25 numbered copies, making it one of Jefferson’s rarest rookie cards.
The card does have a few parallels as well; In 2023, a PSA 9 graded copy of the Sapphire version sold for $3.1k.
2020 Panini Immaculate Collection Rookie Patch Autograph Justin Jefferson #118
The Immaculate Collection is another super-premium Panini NFL product; This Justin Jefferson RPA card is another of his most expensive rookie cards, and another good alternative to the coveted National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph.
Like the Flawless card, it features a hard-signed autograph and jersey patch. This one has a base version print run of 99 copies, which is more than Flawless, but still rare enough to make it valuable.
There are also a few highly limited, and more valuable parallel versions for this one.
2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph Justin Jefferson #170
Saving the best until last for Justin Jefferson rookie cards, the 2020 National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card.
In my opinion, and many other collectors will agree, National Treasures offer the best and most premium rookie cards for players of Justin’s era, and this is his top rookie card option.
The brand prestige of National Treasures gives it the edge over the Flawless and Immaculate RPAs, in terms of desirability and value. The jumbo relic patch also plays a part in that.
With just 99 base copies, it’s a card that ticks all the boxes for collectors with big budgets.
A PSA 9 graded copy of the base version sold for $9.9k in 2023, and the parallel options are even rarer and more valuable.
When Was Justin Jefferson’s Rookie Season?
Justin Jefferson’s rookie season was the 2020 NFL season – He was selected as the 22nd overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2020 NFL Draft.
What Are Justin Jefferson Rookie Cards Worth?
Justin Jefferson rookie card prices depend on which of his rookie cards you buy.
The more mainstream, and common base Justin Jefferson rookie cards sell for less than $100, but the more premium autographed and relic cards, can sell for multiple-thousands of dollars.
What Is The Most Valuable Justin Jefferson Rookie?
Excluding parallels, Justin Jefferson’s 2020 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Autograph card is his most valuable rookie card.
Back in 2023, a PSA 9 graded copy of the base version, which is limited to only 99 numbered copies, sold for $9.9k.
The jumbo relic patch, with the hard-signed autograph, and high-quality finish are large contributors to the value.
The National Treasures brand prestige gives it the edge over similar Jefferson rookie cards, like the 2020 Panini Immaculate Collection and the 2020 Panini Flawless RPA cards.
Justin Jefferson: A Background
After quickly adapting from college football to the NFL, Justin Jefferson became one of the most popular rookies from a talent-rich 2020 NHL Draft call, by the end of his rookie season.
Jefferson’s rookie season was a revelation, where he set the all-time NFL rookie record for receiving yards with exactly 1,400, which ranked him 4th overall among all NFL Wide Receivers in that season. His 88 receptions were also a team rookie record.
Along with Washington’s Chase Young, Jefferson was one of only two rookies to be named to the 2021 Pro Bowl. The Sporting News also named him the NFL Rookie of the Year.
Justin Jefferson followed up a successful rookie season with a good second season in the NFL, making the 2022 Pro Bowl.
