Arch Manning's First Trading Card Sold For $103,000, The Highest Price In Panini's Website History

Arch Manning is a freshman in college. He has yet to take a snap for the Texas Longhorns and will likely still have yet to take a meaningful one a year from now, barring an injury to Quinn Ewers. Despite that, he just set a record for the most expensive trading card ever sold on Panini's website at more than $100,000.

I know everybody thinks Arch is going to be the next in the line of the Manning dynasty, but would people be going this crazy over him if his name was switched with Nico Iamaleava's or Malachi Nelson's? There's certainly a world in which the person who bought that card makes a great return, but I'd argue that isn't necessarily the likely outcome. You're banking on a Heisman-winning college career to even have a chance of getting your money back and then an outstanding NFL career on top of that to have a chance of making money on this thing. Maybe whoever bought it is just the world's biggest Manning family fan with fuck you money and having this card is worth it whatever Arch ends up being as a player, but if it was an investment, it's definitely a bit riskier than a Roth IRA.

If Manning does end up becoming what he's been hyped up to be, though, you've never seen a media circus like what the University of Texas football program will become. Every outlet in this country will have a designated reporter living in Austin during football season to cover every class, practice and bathroom break of Arch's life. So getting in on the front end could be well worth it.

For now, though, he's just the backup.