An Emmitt Smith rookie card is worth about $2 to $50 raw as of October 2026. The 1990 Score Supplemental #101T, the card collectors treat as his key rookie, sells for about $50 raw and $2,250-2,470 in PSA 10. The 1990 Pro Set #685 is about $2 raw and $350-450 in PSA 10, Topps Traded #27T about $12 raw and $210-235, and Fleer Update #U-40 about $15 raw and $145-160.
Smith, the 17th pick of the 1990 draft, became the NFL's career rushing leader, but his rookie year fell in the middle of the hobby's biggest printing boom. Most of his 1990 cards exist in large numbers, so the condition and the specific card do the work. A raw Pro Set from a shoebox is a $2 card. A sharp, well-centered Score Supplemental is worth taking seriously.
Quick answer
- 1990 Score Supplemental #101T: about $50 raw, $160 in grade 9, $2,250-2,470 in PSA 10.
- 1990 Pro Set #685: about $2 raw, $30 in grade 9, $350-450 in PSA 10.
- 1990 Topps Traded #27T: about $12 raw, $43 in grade 9, $210-235 in PSA 10.
- 1990 Fleer Update #U-40: about $15 raw, $40 in grade 9, $145-160 in PSA 10.
- Emmitt Smith cards from 1991 onward are usually $1-10 unless graded high.
How do I identify and value an Emmitt Smith rookie card?
Four 1990 cards make up nearly every Emmitt Smith rookie that turns up. Three of them have a letter in the card number, which is the quickest tell.
- Read the year. His rookie cards are dated 1990 and show him as a Dallas Cowboy. If the copyright line says 1991 or later, it is not a rookie.
- Read the card number. Score Supplemental is #101T, with a T after the number. Topps Traded is #27T. Fleer Update is #U-40, with a U in front. Pro Set is #685, a plain number.
- Check the set name. The Score Supplemental back says Score and has the T number; the front design matches the 1990 Score set. Score Supplemental, Topps Traded and Fleer Update are update sets that came out after the main 1990 sets, which is why their numbers carry a letter.
- Look at centering first. On 1990 cards the borders are the main problem. Compare the left and right borders, then the top and bottom. A card that is visibly off-center will not grade a 10.
- Check corners and edges. Look for white showing at the corners and for rough or chipped edges.
- Check the surface. Tilt the card under a lamp for print spots, scratches and wax stains.
- Price it from sold results for the exact card and grade. A raw price and a PSA 10 price for the same card can be fifty times apart. Judge your copy with the same eye a grader would.
Say you find a 1990 Score Supplemental Emmitt Smith #101T in a box of Cowboys cards. The corners are sharp and the surface is clean, but the top border is slightly thicker than the bottom. That probably holds it to a 9, worth about $160, against about $50 raw. Grading it at PSA's $59.99 Standard tier is close to break-even at a 9, and a real profit if it surprises and comes back a 10. With a Pro Set #685 in the same condition, the math is different: a 9 is worth about $30, so it is not worth sending.
What are Emmitt Smith rookie cards worth?
Sold results and price guide figures from SportsCardsPro as of October 2026. "Grade 9" is a 9 from PSA or a comparable grader.
| Card | Raw | Grade 8 | Grade 9 | PSA 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Score Supplemental #101T | About $50 | About $68 | About $160 | About $2,250-2,470 |
| 1990 Pro Set #685 | About $2 | About $15 | About $30 | About $350-450 |
| 1990 Topps Traded #27T | About $12 | About $23 | About $43 | About $210-235 |
| 1990 Fleer Update #U-40 | About $15 | About $24 | About $40 | About $145-160 |
| Emmitt Smith cards 1991 and later | About $1-10 | Rarely worth grading | Varies | Varies |
The Score Supplemental figure rests on a steady run of sales: SportsCardsPro records PSA 10 copies at $2,250 in late September 2026, $2,300 in early October and $2,400-2,469 later that month. A 9.5 from another grader sells for about $650, a reminder that the very top grade carries most of the value.
Score Supplemental, Pro Set, Fleer Update or Topps Traded: which one do you have?
1990 Score Supplemental #101T shares the design of the regular 1990 Score set but comes from the later supplemental set, and its number ends in T. It is the Emmitt rookie the hobby values most, and the only one worth more than about $15 raw.
1990 Pro Set #685 comes from the regular Pro Set issue and is the most plentiful of the four. It is a $2 card raw and the cheapest way to own an Emmitt rookie. In PSA 10 it sells for more than Topps Traded or Fleer Update.
1990 Topps Traded #27T comes from Topps' traded and rookie set issued after the season started, with a T in the number.
1990 Fleer Update #U-40 has a U before the number and comes from Fleer's update set.
What moves the price?
| Factor | What it does |
|---|---|
| Which card | Score Supplemental leads by a wide margin in every grade |
| Grade | A PSA 10 is worth about 14 times a 9 for Score Supplemental |
| Centering | The most common reason a 1990 card misses a 10 |
| Grading company | PSA 10 brings the most; see PSA vs BGS vs CGC |
| Autograph | Signed cards depend on authentication; an unverified signature adds little |
| Year | Cards from 1991 onward are later issues and mostly common |
Where should I sell an Emmitt Smith rookie card?
The right place depends on what the card is worth. A raw Pro Set does not justify auction fees; a PSA 10 Score Supplemental deserves a wide audience.
| Channel | Best for | What you get | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local card shop | Raw rookies and stacks of 1990s cards | Cash the same day | Shops pay below retail so they can resell |
| eBay or a similar marketplace | Graded cards from about $50 to a few thousand | The widest pool of buyers | Selling fees and the work of listing and shipping |
| Online consignment or vault platforms | Graded cards you want to sell without handling | Listing and shipping done for you | A commission on the sale |
| Major auction house | High-grade cards worth several thousand dollars | Serious bidders and a catalog listing | Longer timelines and buyer and seller premiums |
Our guide on how to sell sports cards compares the options in more detail.
What about signed Emmitt Smith rookie cards?
A signed rookie is worth what a buyer will pay for a signature they trust. Emmitt Smith has signed at many shows over the years, so signed cards are not rare, and an unverified signature on a raw card adds little. A card with an autograph authenticated by PSA/DNA, Beckett or JSA, or one graded with the signature encapsulated, sells with a clear premium over the unsigned card. Without that paperwork, price it as the unsigned card and treat the signature as a bonus.
Common mistakes
- Calling a 1991 card a rookie. Only 1990 cards are rookies. His 1991 cards are common.
- Expecting a raw rookie to be worth hundreds. Raw copies of the four rookies sell for $2-50.
- Grading every copy. A Pro Set or Fleer Update in grade 9 is worth less than the PSA fee.
- Ignoring centering. Sharp corners do not help if one border is twice as wide as the other.
- Trusting signed cards without paperwork. Emmitt Smith signed a lot, but forged signatures are common. Buy signed cards authenticated.
- Using asking prices. "Rare rookie" listings often ask many times what the card sells for.
How WorthPic reads Emmitt Smith card photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From your photos it reads the brand, year and card number, including the T or U that marks the update sets, and whether the card is a rookie. It looks at visible condition: centering, corners, edges and obvious surface marks, and reads the label on a graded card. Then it gives a value range from recent sold results for that card in that condition, with a most likely figure.
What it cannot know from a photo is whether the centering passes a grader's measurement, faint scratches and print spots that only show under strong light, whether a card has been trimmed, whether an autograph is genuine, or what grade a grading company will give. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The front, straight on, with all four borders visible for centering.
- The back, with the card number and copyright year readable.
- Each corner close up if the card looks sharp.
- The card tilted under a lamp to show surface marks.
- The slab label if the card is graded.
Is it worth grading an Emmitt Smith rookie card?
For the Score Supplemental #101T in clean condition, usually yes. For the other three, only when the card looks perfect. PSA's published fee schedule lists $59.99 per card at the Standard tier, for cards worth up to $1,000 graded, and $199 at Express for cards up to $2,500, as of October 2026, with the cheaper Value tiers paused. Declare the value you expect after grading; a Score Supplemental that might be a 10 belongs at the tier that covers about $2,500. See our PSA grading cost guide.
When to get it looked at in person
A local card shop can sort a stack of early-1990s football cards quickly; most will be priced as commons. For a Score Supplemental #101T that looks flawless, the next step is PSA, BGS or SGC. For other football cards from the same boxes, see old football cards worth anything, and for another great of the same era, the Joe Montana rookie card. For the wider picture of how trading cards are valued, including grading and where to sell, the category page brings every sport together.
Sources
- SportsCardsPro: 1990 Score Supplemental Emmitt Smith #101T: raw to PSA 10 values and 2026 PSA 10 sales
- SportsCardsPro: 1990 Pro Set Emmitt Smith #685: Pro Set values and PSA 10 sales
- SportsCardsPro: 1990 Topps Traded Emmitt Smith #27T: Topps Traded values and PSA 10 sales
- SportsCardsPro: 1990 Fleer Update Emmitt Smith #U-40: Fleer Update values and PSA 10 sales
- PSA pricing: grading fees by tier as of October 2026