Bowman Draft is always a popular release among prospect fans and really anyone looking to hit on the next big thing before they reach the big leagues. 2023 Bowman Draft is no different, with the highly anticipated set bringing top 2023 draft picks, top prospects, and plenty of ink and chrome.
But what will collectors find in 2023 Bowman Draft? What do we know so far about the parallels, autographs, and inserts? And what’s this we hear about a Tom Brady baseball card?
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The release date for 2023 Bowman Draft is scheduled for December 12, 2023 (subject to change). The product became available for pre-sale on Topps.com for pre-sale on November 14, 2023 and quickly sold out.
The product will be available in two different formats: Hobby Jumbo and Super Jumbo.
2023 Bowman Draft Hobby Jumbo Boxes contain 12 packs per box. Autographs are seeded 3 per hobby box. There are 8 boxes per case. Pre-sale prices on Topps.com for a hobby jumbo box were $479.99. After-market prices aren’t yet known.
2023 Bowman Draft Super Jumbo Boxes contain 120-card packs. I believe there are 8 packs per box, based on my attempts to read a zoomed-in image of a box.
There are six boxes per case. Autographs are seeded 5 per Jumbo Box. Pre-sales on Topp.com of Super Jumbo boxes were for $649.99. After-market prices aren’t yet known.
Shop for 2023 Bowman Draft:
Shop for 2023 Bowman Draft boxes on eBay
Check to see if 2023 Bowman Draft boxes are preselling on Topps.com
The 2023 Bowman Draft consists of 200 cards, including a mix of recent draft picks and top prospects. Look for the much sought-after 1st Bowman cards of several top picks from the 2023 draft.
Recent draft picks in the set include 2023 #1 overall pick Paul Skenes. Many names in the set won’t be household names to your average collector. But some will be, some day. That is the appeal of Bowman Draft…getting in on the next big thing on the ground floor.
A variety of parallels, variations, chrome, and the like can be found in 2023 Bowman Draft.
Chrome versions of the base set are available. The 1st Bowman Chrome of top draftees is sure to be popular with collectors.
Additional parallels are available, although details, including print runs, are not yet known.
Image Variations are available for 10 of the biggest names. 15 more players get Chrome Prospectors Special Die Cut Variations.
Tom Brady famously was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round (507th overall pick) of the 1995 draft. Brady did not sign and never appeared in a professional baseball game or on a baseball card.
He went on to become famous for marrying a supermodel and appearing in rental car commercials. There may have been one other thing, but I digress.
Anyway, Topps announced earlier this year at the Topps Industry Conference that Tom Brady will finally get his first baseball card. Those cards appear in 2023 Bowman Draft in the form of 1995 Bowman Tom Brady as well as sure-to-be-popular autographed versions.
Shop for 2023 Bowman Draft:
Shop for 2023 Bowman Draft boxes on eBay
Check to see if 2023 Bowman Draft boxes are preselling on Topps.com
A variety of insert offerings are included in Bowman Draft. While odds aren’t yet available, we know the inserts will be popular pulls as always.
Bowman Retrofractors beat the same drum the Tom Brady cards do, giving two stars of the past their very own 1st Bowman cards. In this case, the players are Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski and Negro League great Josh Gibson. Chrome versions are also available.
Transformative Talent consists of 20 top names, including a mix of 2023 draftees and top prospects. These have a bit of a comic book feel to them.
Draft Picks & Prospects brings us 20 more top prospects, including 2022 top picks Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones.
Bowman Draft Night includes 10 cards with draft night photos of 2023 picks.
Bowman Glass gives us 18 more cards with glass design.
Mood Ring brings us 10 more cards, which likely have a colored theme, but details aren’t yet available.
Bowman 54 Flag Variation consists of 50 cards.
Autographs are a huge part of the draw of 2023 Bowman Draft, with 3 guaranteed per hobby jumbo box and 5 per super jumbo box. The signed version of the Tom Brady 1995 Bowman card are sure to be the most sought after ink in the box, but there’s a lot more to chase as well.
Carl Yastrzemski signed some of his Bowman Retrofractor cards. Those will be a great pull as well. Unfortunately, Josh Gibson passed away back in 1947 so only unsigned versions of his Retrofractor are available.
Chrome Prospect Autographs: The largest autograph offering in the product features prospects, which makes it always highly anticipated. With 101 cards in the set, it offers top names plus some deeper cuts. Parallel versions will also be available, although details are not yet available.
Image Variation Autographs: All 10 of cards that get Image Variations get autographed versions as well.
Franchise Futures Dual Autographs: Four pairs of prospects with ink from each.
Class of 23 Autographs offer autographs of 2023 draftees.
Positioned for Excellence/Picked for Excellence: Not a lot is known about these two autographed offerings, but they contain 12 and 15 cards, respectively.
Bowman Glass Autographs, Bowman Flag 54 Autographs, Mood Ring Autographs, Draft Picks & Prospects Autographs: select cards from the insert sets get ink.
2023 Bowman Draft is sure to be a popular product with prospectors looking to hit it big with the next big thing in MLB.
But do Bowman Draft boxes hold their value well over time? Let’s look at comps for the last few years’ worth of hobby boxes to see what we can learn.
Year | Recent Hobby Jumbo Box Comp Price |
---|---|
2023 | $480 (pre-sale) |
2022 | $625-$675 |
2021 | $450-550 |
2020 | $600-675 |
Overall, the numbers seem to suggest that Bowman Draft holds its value fairly well unopened.
Over time, I’m sure we’ll see some differentiation depending on the quality of draft picks and rookies in any given year, but generally speaking, these seem to not bottom out within a few years of release. Solid potential as a buy-and-hold unopened candidate.
In terms of singles, we can take a look at recent comps for PSA 10 examples from 2022 to see what they can tell us. Unsurprisingly, the high water mark is 2022 1st overall draft pick Jackson Holliday.
Several variations of Holliday rookie cards have sold for $2,000-$3,000 in PSA 10 slabs. From there, the prices are typically $1,000 and below, which isn’t surprising. So, there’s some potential upside here, although, perhaps no earth-shaking hits.
While we don’t know all the details about 2023 Bowman Draft quite yet, we’re getting enough of a taste to know this should be a popular product.
The addition of Tom Brady in addition to the usual menu of 1st Bowman and prospect cards is sure to increase interest. The guaranteed ink in the two product formats is another nice draw.
One word of warning is that the price of these boxes keeps going up. That’s not surprising with a popular product, but “prospecting” at $500, $600, or more per box does change the risk/reward equation somewhat.
That being said, if your collecting budget allows, these have a chance at producing the 1st Bowman card of the next big thing in MLB.
What’s your take on 2023 Bowman Draft? Planning to break a box? Or buy and hold unopened? Or are you going to avoid this one due to the price point or release format? Let us know at card_lines on Twitter.
Shop for 2023 Bowman Draft:
Shop for 2023 Bowman Draft boxes on eBay
Check to see if 2023 Bowman Draft boxes are preselling on Topps.com
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