There are three great new year traditions that almost everybody follows. Firstly, you promise to be on your best behavior. Secondly, you promise to have a proper clear-out of your “stuff”. Thirdly, you promise to improve your finances. If you have a collection of sports memorabilia, clearing it out may help improve your finances. Here’s what you need to know.

The basics of sports memorabilia

The term “sports memorabilia” refers to any item that has value based on its connection with a sport. It can include personal items belonging to sports players and even merchandise produced by sport-related businesses like US Sportsbonus. While many items can qualify as sports memorabilia relatively few have any meaningful, commercial value.

The two main kinds of sports memorabilia

Although literally countless items can qualify as sports memorabilia, they all fall into one of two main categories. These can be called “incidental memorabilia” and “commercial memorabilia”.  Incidental memorabilia refers to items that were created for a practical reason but then became collectible. Commercial memorabilia refers to items that were always intended to be collectibles.  

Neither form of sports memorabilia is inherently more or less valuable than the other.  Incidental memorabilia can, however, have an edge when it comes to rarity.   The challenge with “incidental memorabilia” is proving its origin. 

Commercial memorabilia is more likely to have some identifying marks on it to help separate genuine (licensed and/or limited) items from counterfeits. This is particularly likely with modern items.  In simple terms, the sports industry as a whole has become very well aware of the issue of fake memorabilia and is doing its best to put a stop to it.

If you think you have incidental memorabilia that could be valuable, then do some research online. Find out what to expect from the genuine item and see how well your item compares. If you think the item is real, then consider getting a second opinion from an expert. Getting some sort of confirmation of authenticity can really add a lot to your item’s value.

Valuing sports memorabilia

Like everything else, the price of sports memorabilia is driven by the laws of supply and demand. This means that rarity is usually a huge benefit. It is, however, not remotely enough to make an item valuable. There has to be some reason for people to want it. This generally means that they have to feel a meaningful connection with the item.

For an item of sports memorabilia to have real commercial value it typically needs to have a connection with a popular sports personality or team. Alternatively, it may have a connection to a famous moment in sporting history (e.g. an Olympic win). This will, however, generally also give it a connection to a popular sports personality or team.

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of popularity when valuing sports memorabilia.  It’s also important to be clear about how the popularity of a person (or even a team) can change, sometimes, literally overnight.  For example, a hitherto popular athlete can be embroiled in scandal whereas a little-known one can become a hero with an unexpected win.