The hobby of collecting trading cards underwent a bit of a renaissance in 2020, and the prices of cards haven’t been the same since. What used to be mainly for pleasure has now become profit-oriented, and the former face of the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, is continuing to cash in on the collecting craze.
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He’s now the proud owner of eight separate stores, all of which are known as the Card Vault by Tom Brady. Having collected cards himself all throughout his youth, it’s a bit of a full-circle business venture for the seven-time Super Bowl legend. He probably isn’t too keen on some of the SpongeBob Squarepants or Dragon Ball Z-themed sets that could be seen lining the walls of his Dallas, Texas location, but they help to ensure that younger fans of the hobby are able to find whatever it is that they may be looking for.
According to the man himself, that decision seems to have been inspired by his oldest son, who now shares the same passion for wax that the rest of us have. When asked which athletes’ cards he would target if he was forced to start his collection over today, Brady promptly named the NBA’s latest rookie sensation, “Cooper Flagg.”
“My son Jack is a huge basketball fan, and that’s been his guy for so long. He actually went down to Duke last year and saw him play when Cooper was a freshman there. Cooper has been great to him, so he’s someone that I’ll be collecting a lot of his stuff.”
At just 18 years of age, Flagg has been declared a generational talent. And for good reason. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg has already shown the ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor. The former Duke standout combines elite athleticism, advanced scoring instincts, and defensive intensity rarely seen in a player his age.
He can score at all three levels, with a smooth mid-range game and explosive finishing at the rim, while his defense and shot-blocking make him a true two-way force.
Of course, Brady is more partial to NFL cards than anything else. Just a few months ago, he celebrated the opening of his Patriot Place shopping center location by doing an exclusive interview with the folks over at Complex.
Throughout the interview, Brady was casually browsing the store, and his eyes eventually landed on a Patrick Mahomes rookie card that was priced at $7,500. “I want that in my collection. Save that, make sure you don’t sell that one,” he told the store’s co-founder, Chris Costa.
Costa began drawing up an invoice for the order, but he jokingly made sure to remind Brady that there’s “no discounts,” not even for him. Essentially making a $7,500 investment in his own storefront, Brady went through with the transaction, as he couldn’t risk missing out on an opportunity to profit from the league’s next great quarterback.
His stores have everything from $2,000 Michael Jordan star cards from 1986 to the latest NBA and NFL rookie sets, and Brady has been known to drop in from time to time. So, if you ever find yourself itching to rip open some packs while also being in a major metropolitan area, then you may want to pop in, as you could just so happen to come across more than just a box of cards.
