The Story Behind A Very Rare Kurt Warner Football Card

You never know what you'll see pop up in your social media newsfeed these days. As I sat in my office yesterday scrolling through pet photos and recipes and post from a Facebook page called Iowa Chill caught my eye. It featured an old football card of quarterback Kurt Warner. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the legend of Kurt Warner. The former UNI Panther who got one last shot in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams and led them to a Super Bowl after their starting QB was injured. His NFL career earned Warner a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But before all the NFL fame, Warner played for a different team. The Iowa Barnstormers.

The Barnstormers were an Arena Football team. They played on a much smaller field than in other professional leagues. It was a long way from the pros, but Warner was an Arena League MVP and led Iowa to ArenaBowl X. The Barnstormers would lose to Tampa Bay.

Now, back to yesterday's strange social media post. Iowa Chill shared this photo of a Kurt Warner Barnstormers rookie card. They called it the most 'Iowa' thing you'll see all day.

The post was shared nearly 200 times and got many people talking about Warner's amazing football career. But I was focused on the football card itself! As a former collector, I wondered just how rare a find this Kurt Warner card would be and what it is valued at.

According to Icon Auctions, the Kurt Warner card was produced back in 1995 and distributed in one place. Taco Johns. Yes, in the mid-90s you got potato oles and a Kurt Warner rookie card. Taco Johns didn't hand out a ton of these cards, so they are fairly rare. It is also more difficult to find one nicely centered, which raises the value of a sports card. The card sold by Icon Auctions was graded a 9, which is near mint condition. It ended up selling for $586. But that is nothing compared to what some are asking for the Taco John's Kurt Warner card on eBay!

There are several of the Taco John's Kurt Warner rookie cards for sale on eBay. The one pictured above has an asking price of $1,229.99. Another is asking $1500 while a third is a bargain at just $700. Now, of course, these are requested purchase prices. Whether anyone actually pays that much remains to be seen.

Check your card collections for this Kurt Warner gem of a card. It might be the most 'Iowa' thing you've seen, but it could also be worth some big-time money!

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