The pitfalls of sports memorabilia and footy cards on your laptop

Argentina's Diego Maradona scores his ‘Hand of God’ goal in 1986

My collection of footy trading cards long ago began gathering dust in a box at the back of mum and dad’s shed and I was pretty sure such things were a thing of the past. But apparently not.

Sports memorabilia is still a thriving industry and footy cards have simply been digitalised and ushered into the 21st century in a new slicker form.

Non-fungible tokens – which as far as I can tell are just digital footy cards with a few extra bells and whistles – are set to take sport by storm.

The AFL is apparently close to signing an NFT deal and the NBL is also talking about it, but Cricket Australia has jumped in boots and all.

You can already buy an NFT of David Warner hitting a six for around $12, thanks to a Caribbean Premier League NFT deal. But CA has now done a deal with a couple of NFT companies that will allow fans to start a collection of their favourite players on their laptops. And it will be worth as much as $10m a year to the game.

Meanwhile, a Sydney Swans fan recently pocketed a lucrative swag of goodies in return for handing over the Sherrin Buddy Franklin slotted through the big sticks for his 1000th goal. Although he could probably have held out for more, considering the ball is believed to be worth as much as $200,000.

Another fan who sold himself short was Tampa Bay fan Byron Kennedy, who caught the ball that NFL legend Tom Brady threw for this record-breaking 600th touchdown pass.

Kennedy was convinced to return the ball to the team in exchange for two signed Brady jerseys and a helmet, the jersey and boots worn by wide receiver Mike Evans, $US1000 credit at the Buccaneers merchandise store and two season tickets for the next two years. Brady himself sweetened the deal by throwing in a Bitcoin.

Running that through the guesstimate calculator, we reckon what Kennedy received was worth about $100,000.

The ball he handed over, however, has been conservatively valued at $500,000.

If you’re thinking of jumping into the 21st-century memorabilia and trading cards market, however, beware of potential fakes.

Case in point. Diego Maradona’s eldest daughter reckons an Argentina shirt expected to fetch $US5m when it is auctioned next month is not the one her late father wore when he scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal against England.

Former England player Steve Hodge, whose misfired flick set up the infamous goal, says Maradona swapped shirts with him at the end of the controversial game in Mexico City in 1986.

He’s selling it through Sotheby’s, who say they hired an external company who did “extensive diligence and scientific research” and provided a “conclusive photomatch” to prove the shirt is the real thing.

But Dalma Maradona has poured cold water on proceedings by saying the shirt is actually the one worn by her dad in the goalless first half of the game and he changed at halftime.

The shirt he wore in the second half, when he also used his feet to score one the greatest goals in World Cup history, is in the hands of another mystery collector, she says.

“This former player thinks he has my Dad’s second-half jersey, but it’s a mix-up,” says Dalma.

“He has the one from the first half. We want to clarify that so that people who want to buy it know the truth.”

Meanwhile, the socks I wore when the Boorowa Rovers lost the 1973 Group Nine under-15 grand final are available to the highest bidder.

FEAST FOT THE STARS

The farewell dinner for departing Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates on April 30 will be a star-studded affair.

As AWAAT reported a couple of weeks ago, the great and the good of Australian sport, politics and business will muster at the Sofitel in Sydney to toast the elder statesman of sports administration, who will have handed the reins to either Ian Chesterman or Mark Stockwell earlier in the day.

But the guest list is growing. IOC boss Thomas Bach had planned a trip to Fiji for the Oceania National Olympics Committees’ annual general meeting in early May. But when he learnt of his mate Coates’ farewell, he organised a detour to Sydney.

Bach will make a speech at the AOC meeting and will then get to his feet for some more personal remarks at the dinner.

Zimbabwean former Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry, the chair of the Brisbane 2032 IOC Co-ordination Commission, will also be in Sydney to honour Coates.

Her trip coincides with a visit to Brisbane to press the flesh with the new chair of the Brisbane Organising Committee Andrew Liveris, who will oversee his first meeting in the days leading up to Coates’ departure.

PEACHES ‘N’ CREAM GONE

This year’s US Masters might not have turned out the way Australian golf fans would have wanted, with Queenslander Cameron Smith tipping his chances into Rae’s Creek on the 12th. But by any standards it was an exciting finish, with Rory McIlroy mounting a spirited challenge on the final day and American Scottie Scheffler a worthy winner.

But nonetheless, there was something missing.

Fans who have been regulars at Augusta National report that the experience was not what it used to be thanks to the absence of Georgia peach ice-cream sandwiches.

I’m told that for decades, no trip to the Masters on a warm day was complete without one of the sweet treats, which consist of a slab of peach ice-cream in between a couple of sugar biscuits – or cookies, as they call them in those parts.

But the sandwiches were missing from concession stands this year and no one seemed to know why.

The contract to manufacture the sandwiches recently switched to a new company, which reportedly has had some issues with listeria in the past. But no indication whether that was the explanation and the Augusta National Golf Club declined to comment.

A couple of concession stand holders suggested it was something to do with supply chain issues. But there’s certainly been no shortage of the key ingredient, Georgia peaches – 2021 was a bumper year for the fruit.

“There has been no shortage of Georgia peaches for the last few years,” orchardist Lanier Pearson told my friends at the Wall Street Journal.

[e-mail] @walmason