A Patrick Mahomes rookie card is worth about $25 to six figures as of October 2026, depending on the set and the grade. The 2017 Prizm #269 sells for about $765 raw and $6,800-7,700 in PSA 10, the Donruss Optic #177 for about $400 raw and $1,250-1,575 in PSA 10, and the Score #403 for about $25 raw. A National Treasures patch autograph numbered to 99 sold for $93,000 in BGS 9.
Mahomes was the 10th pick of the 2017 draft and sat behind Alex Smith for most of his rookie season, so his 2017 cards were printed as ordinary rookie cards of a backup quarterback. That is why a few products are plentiful and cheap while the high-end autographs, numbered parallels and gem-mint copies carry the money. His name on 2017 cards reads "Patrick Mahomes II", which is a useful first check.
Quick answer
- 2017 Prizm #269 base: about $765 raw, $1,760 in grade 9, $6,800-7,700 in PSA 10. Silver Prizm: about $910 raw, about $7,800 in PSA 10.
- 2017 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie #177: about $400 raw, $1,250-1,575 in PSA 10. Donruss #327: about $185 raw, $1,450 in PSA 10.
- 2017 Select #103: about $320 raw, $1,170 in PSA 10. 2017 Score #403: about $25 raw, $170 in PSA 10.
- 2017 Contenders Rookie Ticket autograph #303: about $7,700 raw. National Treasures patch auto /99: $93,000 in BGS 9 (Fanatics Collect, February 2026).
How do I identify and value a Patrick Mahomes rookie card?
Start with the back of the card, then the front, then the condition. These steps sort almost every Mahomes card in a few minutes.
- Confirm the year. Read the copyright line on the back. A true rookie is a 2017 Panini card showing him as a Chiefs rookie, and most carry a small RC logo on the front. Cards dated 2018 and later are not rookies, even the ones from his first MVP season.
- Read the set name and card number. The key numbers are Prizm #269, Donruss Optic #177, Donruss #327, Select #103 and #247, Score #403, Contenders #303 and National Treasures #161. The number sits on the back, usually in a corner.
- Check the finish. Prizm, Optic and Select are printed on shiny chromium stock. Donruss and Score are ordinary cardboard. A chrome card that looks like Donruss artwork is Optic, not Donruss, and is worth more.
- Look for a parallel. Tilt the card under a lamp. Silver Prizm shows a rainbow shimmer across the whole front; Holo Optic shows a similar sheen. Colored borders and a stamped serial number such as 12/49 on the front or back mean a numbered parallel, which needs its own price lookup.
- Check for an autograph or a patch. Contenders signatures are on a ticket-style design. National Treasures #161 is a thick card with a jersey patch window, an autograph and a serial number out of 99.
- Judge condition like a grader. Look at all four corners, the edges, the surface for print lines and scratches, and the centering. Chrome cards show chipped edges and surface scratches easily. Our guide to grading a card at home walks through it.
- Price it from sold results for the exact card and grade on SportsCardsPro, 130point or eBay sold listings. Asking prices are not sales.
Say you find a shiny Mahomes card in a binder. The back says 2017 Panini Prizm, number 269, and the front shows no rainbow shimmer when you tilt it, so it is the base Prizm, not the Silver. The corners look sharp but one edge has a white nick. That nick probably keeps it out of a PSA 10, so the honest value is around $765 raw, or roughly $900-1,760 if it grades an 8 or 9. Declared at PSA's Express tier, $199 for cards worth up to $2,500 graded, it still leaves a clear margin over the raw price if it comes back a 9.
What are Patrick Mahomes 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. Thin markets are shown as ranges or noted.
| Card | Raw | Grade 9 | PSA 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Prizm #269 base | About $765 | About $1,760 | About $6,800-7,700 |
| 2017 Prizm #269 Silver | About $910 | About $1,730 | About $7,800 |
| 2017 Prizm #269 Orange or Light Blue | About $3,000 | About $4,300-4,600 | About $8,100-10,200 |
| 2017 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie #177 | About $400 | About $590 | About $1,250-1,575 |
| 2017 Optic #177 Holo | About $1,390 | About $1,560 | About $3,800 |
| 2017 Donruss Rated Rookie #327 | About $185 | About $420 | About $1,450 |
| 2017 Select #103 | About $320 | About $390 | About $1,170 |
| 2017 Select #247 | About $560 | About $930 | About $1,120 |
| 2017 Score #403 | About $25 | About $60 | About $170 |
| 2017 Contenders Rookie Ticket auto #303 | About $7,700 | About $19,900 | About $62,000, sales thin |
| 2017 National Treasures RPA #161, /99 | Rarely sold raw | $93,000 in BGS 9 | Very rare |
The Optic numbers come from a run of sales in the last days of October 2026, when PSA 10 copies sold at $1,234, $1,476, $1,480 and $1,575. The Prizm PSA 10 figure comes from August 2026 sales at $6,800, $7,050, $7,400 and $7,700.
Prizm, Optic, Select and National Treasures: which one do you have?
The four products collectors ask about most look different in the hand, and each sits at a different price level.
2017 Panini Prizm #269 is the flagship. It is a chromium card with a photo of Mahomes in a Chiefs uniform, and it is the card most investors track. Panini made dozens of Prizm parallels; the Silver Prizm, with a rainbow shimmer, is the one most often found. Colored Prizms such as Orange, Light Blue, Red and Purple are scarcer and some are serial-numbered.
2017 Donruss Optic #177 is the chrome version of the Donruss Rated Rookie design, with the "Rated Rookie" logo on the front. The base Optic is affordable; the Holo parallel and colored versions climb quickly, and the Optic autographs sell for several thousand dollars.
2017 Select #103 and #247 are two separate rookie cards in different tiers of the Select set, both chrome. The Tri Color, Tie Dye and die-cut parallels sell for far more than the base.
2017 National Treasures #161 is the luxury card: a thick, heavy card with a game-worn patch, an on-card autograph and a serial number out of 99, plus rarer parallels down to one of one. These are the cards that set records. A one-of-one National Treasures NFL Shield patch autograph sold for $4.3 million through PWCC in July 2021, a record for a football card at the time, according to Fox Business.
What moves the price?
| Factor | What it does |
|---|---|
| Which set | Prizm base in PSA 10 sells for four to five times an Optic or Donruss PSA 10 |
| Grade | A PSA 10 Prizm is worth roughly four times a 9 and nine times a raw copy |
| Parallel | Colored and numbered parallels sell for two to ten times the base card |
| Autograph | Contenders and Optic autographs start in the thousands |
| Serial number | Low numbers, or a number matching his jersey 15, add a premium |
| Grading company | PSA 10 usually brings the highest price; see PSA vs BGS vs CGC |
| Season results | Mahomes card prices rise and fall with playoff runs and injuries |
How to sell a Patrick Mahomes rookie card
The route depends on the card, not the name. A 2017 Score #403 at about $25 raw, and any 2018 or later base card at $1-10, sells on a general marketplace or goes to a local card shop as part of a stack. A raw Prizm #269, Optic #177, Donruss #327 or Select rookie sells singly on a general marketplace, with sold results on SportsCardsPro, 130point or eBay as the price check. A clean copy of any of those is worth sending to PSA first, since a Prizm that comes back a 10 sells for around $7,000 against about $765 raw, and the Express tier at $199 covers cards up to $2,500. Every Contenders autograph, National Treasures card and colored or numbered Prizm goes to PSA, BGS or SGC before it is listed, and a card that could bring five figures goes to Heritage, Goldin or Fanatics Collect for an auction estimate.
A Mahomes buyer wants the identification done for them:
- The back, with 2017, the set name and the card number readable.
- The front tilted under a lamp, so a Silver Prizm or Holo Optic shimmer is visible or clearly absent.
- Each corner and edge close up, the centering stated, and surface scratches or print lines declared.
- The serial number and autograph close up, and the full slab label with the cert number on a graded card.
Ship a raw card in a penny sleeve and top loader inside a bubble mailer, and a slab in a padded box. Do not describe a raw card as a PSA 10 candidate without saying why, do not call a 2018 card a rookie, and do not sell an unauthenticated autograph as genuine.
Common mistakes
- Calling a 2018 card a rookie. His 2018 cards, from the season he threw 50 touchdowns, are not rookies and sell for a fraction of the 2017 prices.
- Mixing up Donruss and Optic. They share the Rated Rookie design. Optic is chrome; Donruss is plain cardboard and worth less raw.
- Missing a parallel. A Silver Prizm or a Holo Optic is easy to overlook in bad light. Tilt every chrome card under a lamp.
- Paying graded prices for raw cards. A raw card is a bet on its grade. Most raw Prizms have some flaw that stops them reaching a 10.
- Trusting a raw autograph. Forged Mahomes signatures are common. Buy autographs graded or authenticated, and look up every slab's cert number.
- Using asking prices. Listings for Mahomes cards often sit far above what the cards sell for.
How WorthPic reads Patrick Mahomes 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 year, the set, the card number and the "Patrick Mahomes II" name line, whether the stock is chrome or cardboard, whether there is a rookie logo, a serial number, a patch or an autograph, and whether the finish looks like a Silver Prizm or another parallel. It checks visible condition: corners, edges, centering and obvious surface marks. On a graded card it reads the label. 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 a signature is genuine, whether a card has been trimmed or recolored, hairline scratches that only show under a strong light, 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, in daylight, filling the frame.
- The back, so the set name, copyright year and card number are readable.
- The card tilted under a lamp, to show whether it has a parallel shimmer.
- Each corner and edge close up if the card looks clean enough to grade.
- Any serial number and autograph close up.
- The full slab label if it is graded, including the cert number.
Is it worth grading a Patrick Mahomes rookie card?
Grading pays for Prizm, Optic, Donruss and Select rookies in clean condition, and for every autograph and numbered parallel. PSA's published fee schedule lists $59.99 per card at the Standard tier for cards worth up to $1,000 graded, $79.99 at Priority up to $1,500, and $199 at Express up to $2,500, with the cheaper Value tiers paused as of October 2026. A Prizm base that might grade a 10 is worth around $7,000, so it belongs at the tier that covers that value. A Score #403 rarely justifies the fee unless it is perfect. Our PSA grading cost guide explains the tiers in detail.
When to get it looked at in person
Any Contenders autograph, National Treasures card or colored Prizm should go to PSA, BGS or SGC before you sell it, and a raw autograph should go to a company that also authenticates signatures. For a card that could bring five figures, Heritage, Goldin and Fanatics Collect will give an auction estimate before consignment. For a stack of 2018 and later Mahomes base cards, a local card shop can sort them quickly, and most will be priced as commons at $1-10 each. For selling options and fees, see how to sell sports cards, and for the other great quarterback rookie of the modern era, see our Tom Brady rookie card guide.
For the broader rules of how trading cards are valued, from parallels and autographs to population reports and selling fees, see the category page.
Sources
- SportsCardsPro: 2017 Prizm Patrick Mahomes II #269: raw, grade 9 and PSA 10 values and August 2026 PSA 10 sales
- SportsCardsPro: 2017 Donruss Optic Patrick Mahomes II #177: Optic values and October 2026 PSA 10 sales
- SportsCardsPro: 2017 Contenders Patrick Mahomes II autograph #303: Contenders autograph values
- Fanatics Collect: 2017 National Treasures Mahomes RPA #161 /99, BGS 9: $93,000 sale in February 2026
- Fox Business: Mahomes rookie card record: $4.3 million National Treasures NFL Shield sale, July 2021
- PSA pricing: grading fees by tier as of October 2026