It’s better to be famous than infamous when it comes to your value in the sports memorabilia market.
Whatever you do off the field cannot hurt the value of your rookie card, but run afoul of the rules and no one wants your autograph, according to a new study.
While scuttlebutt about marital infidelity (hello, Tiger Woods) or accusations of murder (like former football player O.J. Simpson’s trial) may grab headlines, the most damaging misbehavior to auction prices was the use of steroids, the analysis found.
“If a sports star has taken steroids or performance-enhancing drugs, their value declines the most,” says Dan Wade, at JustCollecting and lead author of the report.
Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France bike racing titles after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2013, was found to be “the biggest loser” of the athletes studied, with a decline in memorabilia value of 90 percent from 2013 levels, Wade says.
Armstrong had denied doping allegations as early as 2006 and was under federal investigation from 2010 to 2012, but didn’t admit to wrongdoing until 2013.
Auction items of value to sports collectors typically include autographed sports equipment and player cards, jerseys and trophies.
Baseball stars Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, who were all discovered to have been using steroids, saw an 80 percent decline in collectible value from their respective career peaks.
Once athletes’ names are tied to performance-enhancing drugs, their careers are looked at differently, says Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator, a sports memorabilia authentication company, and editor of Sports Market Report, a collectibles magazine. Fans and collectors have an especially hard time forgiving athletes who repeatedly deny doping allegations but are eventually found to have done so, he adds.
“One thing collectors love to do is make comparisons with stars of different generations; this drives collectors because it helps create themes,” Orlando says. “Performance-enhancing drugs ruin all of that. You don’t know who should legitimately be a part of the 500 home run club and who shouldn’t.”
In contrast, memorabilia belonging to Woods and Simpson has declined in value from their career peaks by only 45 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who was imprisoned in 2007 for running an illegal dog-fighting ring, has seen a similar decline in value of 50 percent compared with his prior career. These events caused public outrage, and lessened the value of memorabilia, but the damage isn’t as severe or permanent as steroid use, Wade says.
