While they may not be quite as much of an institution as baseball cards, theNFL’s die-hard fanbase has led to a steady growth in football cards over the last few decades. Being more of a niche subsection of the hobby until relatively recently, early football cards can be tough to come by.
Topps NFL 1984 is one such set. While the individual cards might not go for much ungraded, finding a pristine, graded copy is rare enough that it can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. These are the most valuable cards in the set, if you can get your hands on them.
All prices listed below are as listed onsportscardspro.comonMay 16, 2025. They may have changed since then.
PSA 7
PSA 8
PSA 9
PSA 9.5
PSA 10
$3.44
$9.70
$18.14
$51.88
$165.40
$514.99
Drafted by Washington in 1983, Green quickly made a name for himself withexplosive plays in his very first games, heralding what would prove to be a Hall Of Fame-worthy career. If you opened a pack of Topps NFL 1984 and found yourself with this first-round pick in your collection, you had a legendary rookie card, even if you didn’t know it at the time.
Darrell Green remainsone of the fastest players in NFL history, and if you had the foresight to get his rookie card graded back in the day, a PSA 10 copy goes for just over $500.
$3.50
$7.06
$16.00
$41.54
$78.93
$529.92
Another 1983 first-round pick, Jim Covert was instrumental in rebuilding Chicago’s offense over the course of the 1980s. In his eight years with the Bears, they won their division six times, including three NFC Championships and a Super Bowl.
Picked at sixth overall, collectors were probably more likely to be on the lookout for this promising rookie’s card. However, Covert’s football career ended in 1992, when he retired after back surgery kept him out of the previous season. His impact in the ’80s was more than enough to secure lasting value for his card, but it probably could have been more if he could have kept playing into the ’90s.
$1.70
$5.10
$5.59
$24.99
$47.83
$641.18
The Seattle Seahawks are no strangers to implacable defenses with intimidating nicknames. We all remember the Legion of Boom, but if you go way back to the 1980s you’ll find that tradition started with Kenny “The Enforcer” Easley. The fourth overall pick in 1981, Easley quickly became a feared interception threat.
Not only was Easley an all-time great in Seattle, he was also a labor leader, representing the Seahawks in the negotiations that ultimately led to the 1987 NFL players' strike. Kidney disease forced him into early retirement, but not before he made his mark in Seattle and in collectors' card binders.
$3.92
$10.04
$17.99
$38.70
$102.50
$764.50
Even if you don’t follow football, you’ve probably heard of Joe Montana. The Notre Dame hero turned NFL superstar is hailed as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and he still holds a few unbeaten records thirty years after his retirement.
In 1984, Montana had been in the league for a few years, having beendrafted by San Francisco in 1979. While he was doing quite well, with a Super Bowl win and MVP award already under his belt as of the 1981 season, his Hall Of Fame status was far from a sure thing - after all, how many former college stars manage to stay healthy and competitive in the NFL? The coming years, though, would cement his legacy.
Joe Montana’s 1984 card isn’t his rookie edition, but it’s still an early look at a future star who hadn’t yet met his destiny, making a graded copy a great find.
$2.39
$4.99
$17.73
$46.66
$62.96
$890.71
The Miami Dolphins, you may have heard, were pretty good in the Don Shula era. Dwight Stephenson joined the vaunted squad in the second round of the 1980 draft, but didn’t see much play until he stepped up to fill in for the injured Mark Dennard a season later. After that, his performance on the field left no question that he would remain Miami’s starting center.
By the time Stephenson’s rookie card was printed in the 1984 Topps NFL set, he had established himself as critical to the Dolphins' continued success. His run with Miami would include three AFC Championship games and two Super Bowls, but his career was ended by a knee injury in 1987 before he could secure a ring.
$1.51
$16.30
$18.00
$908.40
Don Warren was part of a very successful Washington team throughout the ’80s, serving as their tight end throughout his career. By the time this card was printed, he had just appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls, winning one, and would go on to win two more before his retirement in 1992.
Topps NFL 1984 doesn’t generally see a lot of circulation to begin with, but sales records indicate that Don Warren is a particularly slow mover. Whether collectors just don’t want to part with the card, or there just aren’t that many to go around, you’ll probably need to pay a bit extra to coax one out of a seller if past prices are any indication.
$3.25
$19.00
$45.99
$301.35
$331.00
$1073.62
Unlike many of the players on this list, Walter Payton was a league veteran by the 1984 season. A first-round pick by Chicago in 1975, Payton proved to bethe rare player who could do it all; despite being a running back, he filled in successfully at several roles, including quarterback.
Payton has the second-most career rushing yards of all time with 16,726, beaten only by Emmitt Smith’s 18,355.
After a stunning career that earned him a spot in the Hall Of Fame, Walter Payton tragically died of a rare liver disease in 1999. He is remembered asone of the Chicago Bears' - and the NFL’s - greatest players, and the league’s annual Man Of The Year Award for philanthropy and service now bears his name.
$39.00
$59.26
$93.96
$357.80
$1391.96
$4291.95
The rookie cards of players who would go on to be household names typically become the most sought-after pieces in a set. Topps NFL 1984 has the distinction of including the rookie of Dan Marino, a name practically synonymous with 1980s football. When the card was printed, Marino was coming off of a 1983 campaign that saw him win Rookie Of The Year, and would take League MVP in the coming 1984 season.
Marino played for Miami his entire career, retiring in 2000 with a host of awards, records, and accolades to his name… but no Super Bowl wins. Despite his achievements, the legendary quarterback only went to the Big Game once - in the 1984 season, the same for which this card was printed. The Dolphins were defeated 38-16 by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers.
$10.50
$19.50
$27.81
$90.72
$300.00
$4749.99
A prolific running back, Eric Dickerson was drafted second overall in 1983 by the St. Louis Rams, and by the time this card was printed, he’d already earned Offensive Rookie Of The Year in his first season with the team. The very same year that this card was printed, Dickerson would go on toset the league’s single-season rushing recordat 2105, which has yet to be beaten.
His career would go on to see theninth-highest total rushing yards of all timewith 13,259, and Dickerson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1999. Card #1 in Topps NFL 1984 is also Eric Dickerson, and can fetch a few hundred dollars at PSA 10, but it’s the NFC Pro Bowl card pictured above that’s the real prize.
$32.31
$60.58
$88.57
$350.00
$1275.00
$7201.03
As one of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of football, it’s no surprise that John Elway’s rookie card is the highlight of Topps NFL 1984. After the Denver Broncos made some deals to acquire Elway in the 1983 draft, he became the face of their franchise for his entire playing career, and continues to serve as their general manager to this day.
Like the other big-name quarterbacks who made their trading-card debut in this set, it was an open question in 1984 whether Elway’s success in college would translate into a long-term career in the NFL, never mind one as singular as his turned out to be. If you believed, and you got your card graded, that faith paid off, as a highly-rated John Elway rookie now fetches thousands.
