New to Signed Memorabilia? Start Here

Blank list prices from Riddell's collectibles store, checked Oct 8, 2026 (Denver Broncos standard designs). Special editions cost more: a 2026 Salute to Service SpeedFlex lists at $859.99. Drawings are to scale by height.

Authentic vs. replica is the split that matters most. Riddell’s own product pages spell it out. The authentic Speed is about 11 inches tall on a large shell. The replica is about 9.5 inches on a medium shell, with a plastic plate and molded foam jaw pads inside where the authentic has padding. Put them side by side and the size difference is obvious. On its own, look inside.

SpeedFlex vs. Speed comes down to the shell and the hardware. The SpeedFlex has the flexible panel cut into the front of the shell, its own padding, a quick-release face mask and a Cam-Loc chin strap. Riddell lists it at almost twice the price of the authentic Speed, and signed ones sell for more too.

Every authentic shell that’s come through our hands has had a warning label on the back. It’s one of the quickest tells that you’re holding an authentic, and auction houses point to it as a sign of authenticity on game-used helmets. We never peel it off. If it bugs you on display, turn the helmet.

Designs have names. Riddell’s current ones include On-Field Alternate, Salute to Service, Color Rush, Rivalries, Throwback, Retro and Tribute. You’ll also see dealers sell styles like “Lunar,” “Flash” or “Eclipse.” Those are common listing names, but we couldn’t confirm all of them as Riddell’s own. Either way, an unusual design is a different item from the standard shell, so price it against the same design.

There are two very different kinds of authentication, and the sticker doesn’t always make it obvious which one you’re looking at.

Witnessed means someone from the authentication company stood there and watched the player sign. This is the strongest thing you can have. JSA calls theirs the Witnessed Protection Program, and Beckett, Tristar and Steiner all run versions of it.

Opinion means an expert looked at a signature after the fact and decided it’s real. It’s still worth a lot, but it’s a judgment call. JSA’s own policies say its authentication of unwitnessed signatures isn’t guaranteed.

You’ll also see second stickers from the company that ran the signing, like Radtke Sports on our Gronkowski. Upper Deck uses a matching pair, one hologram on the item and one on the certificate. Its president put it simply: “If you don’t have both holograms, there’s a problem.”

A COA from a company you’ve never heard of, or from the seller themselves, means very little. In the FBI’s Operation Bullpen, the forgers printed their own certificates to fool buyers. As one autograph writer put it, a COA “is only as strong as the credibility of its issuer.”

The FBI’s Operation Bullpen, started in 1997, ended in 63 people charged or convicted and more than $4.9 million seized. At the time, the FBI said experts believed over half of the most sought-after athletes’ signed memorabilia was forged, while noting nobody can pin down an exact number. Treat that as a 2005 estimate about the top names, not a rule for everything.

It hasn’t stopped. In 2026 alone, ESPN covered two men pleading guilty to selling fake Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Honus Wagner items, and a forger who claimed he’d copied holograms from Fanatics, Tristar, JSA, Panini and Steiner. A man pleaded guilty in 2025 to selling more than $200,000 in fake Jason Kelce items. And in March 2026, an eBay seller was found putting fake Beckett stickers on items using real Beckett cert numbers, more than 10,000 sales in all.

That last one is the lesson. A cert number that looks up as valid proves the number exists, not that it belongs to the item in front of you. Check that the record matches the signer, the item type and, if it has a photo, the actual piece.

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An inscription is extra text from the signer: a Hall of Fame year, a Super Bowl, a nickname, a stat. When 111 Hall of Famers signed a single helmet, nearly all of them added their induction year. Sapp’s “HOF13” on our Buccaneers piece is the same idea. Signing companies charge extra for them. At the 2025 National, Kurt Warner’s inscription cost $80 on top of the autograph. In 2017, Tom Brady’s ran $299 to $399, one per item, and he wouldn’t write Roman numerals.

Personalization is different. “To Mike” makes an item worth less to everyone who isn’t Mike. Collectors generally agree on this.

Team-signed pieces pack a lot of names onto one shell. They’re great displays. Price them by the biggest one or two names on them, not by adding up every signature.

Pens matter. Most helmets we see are signed in paint pen, white or silver on dark shells and black or blue on light ones. Collectors warn that gold fades fast, even behind UV glass. One collector reported a silver signature on his helmet hadn’t faded at all after about eight years.

Look at what sold, not what’s listed. On eBay, search the player, the item type and the shell, then filter to Sold Items. Heritage’s archive shows real hammer prices too. Match the spec exactly: authentic vs. replica, Speed vs. SpeedFlex, design, authenticator, inscription.

Watch for Best Offer sales. When a seller accepts an offer, eBay’s sold results can show the original asking price, not what was paid. Those sales make an item look more valuable than it is.

Dealer prices aren’t resale prices. In our experience, the big memorabilia dealers’ tags sit well above what the same piece sells for between collectors. A dealer is paying for inventory, marketing and returns. Riddell lists a blank authentic Speed at $439.99. Our signed, Beckett-witnessed Myles Garrett on that same kind of shell sold for $400.

Here’s what some of our own pieces sold for in 2026, so you can see real numbers side by side:

What moves value, in our view:

1. Who signed it. Obvious, but it outweighs everything else. A rookie running back on an authentic shell sold for less than a Pro Bowler on a replica.
2. How often they sign. A great player who signs thousands of items a year stays flat, no matter how good he was. Scarcity holds value. Supply kills it.
3. Team success over personal stats. A Super Bowl run moves a player’s helmets far more than a Pro Bowl. After Tom Brady’s sixth title, nearly 38,000 of his items sold on eBay in three months.
4. The shell. Authentic over replica, SpeedFlex over Speed, full size over mini.
5. The authentication. Witnessed beats opinion. A well-known authenticator beats an unknown one.
6. The calendar. Football memorabilia sells best from August through January. If you’re selling and you can wait, wait for the season.

Jerseys. Nike makes three tiers. Fanatics describes Game as screen-printed or twill with a relaxed fit, Limited as stitched numbers and a tailored cut, and Elite as built to the specs players wear. “Custom” jerseys are made by someone else to look like the real thing, and in our experience they sell for less. Most collectors prefer the signature on the number, in paint pen.

Footballs. Wilson’s “The Duke” is the official NFL game ball: Horween leather, made in Ada, Ohio. Replicas are composite and much cheaper. White-panel autograph balls are their own cheaper format.

Photos. Usually the cheapest way to own a real, certified signature. Signing fees step up once you go bigger than 11x14.

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Private signings. A company books a player, and he signs a batch of items under the company’s supervision. Prices go by item type. Tristar’s 2017 Brady signing charged $499 for a card, $799 for a photo up to 11x14, $819 for a mini helmet or football and $849 for a full-size helmet or jersey.

Show signings. At card shows, you buy a ticket for a player and hand over your item in person. At the 2025 National, Adrian Peterson cost $185 on a standard item and $211 on a premium one, like a full-size helmet. Kurt Warner was $148 and $169.

Through the mail (TTM) and in person. You can mail an item to a player care of his team, or get it signed at a game or camp. It’s cheap and fun, but nobody witnesses it for you, so it’s much harder to sell later.

Breaks. Most of the helmets we’ve had came out of live helmet breaks, where you pay for a team slot and get whatever signed helmet comes out for that team. It’s a fun way in, but you don’t pick the player, the shell or the authenticator. Know what the slot’s realistic outcomes are worth before you buy in.

Our own short list:

1. Buy the signature you want. Chasing it through breaks almost always costs more.
2. Pay for the shell once. If the autograph costs more than a replica helmet, put it on an authentic. Matt Powers gives the same advice.
3. Prefer witnessed. Look up every cert, and make sure the record matches the item.
4. Price off sold listings, matched to the exact spec.
5. Keep everything that came with it, and keep it out of the sun.

Authentic

A full-size helmet built like the on-field version: large shell, real padding and hardware.

Replica

A full-size helmet on a smaller shell with a plastic plate inside. Not made to be worn.

Mini

A half-scale helmet, about 5.5 inches tall.

Speed / SpeedFlex

Riddell shell models. SpeedFlex has the flexible front panel and costs more.

Shell

The helmet body.

Visor

The clear or tinted eye shield on the face mask.

Alternate / throwback

A non-standard design, like an old logo or a special color.

Warning label

The safety sticker on the back of an authentic shell. Leave it on.

COA

Certificate of authenticity. Only as good as whoever issued it.

LOA

A full letter of authenticity, usually with a photo. JSA's are notarized.

Hologram

A numbered, tamper-evident sticker tied to a database.

Witnessed

The authenticator watched the player sign.

Cert number

The number on the sticker or card that you look up.

BAS

Beckett Authentication Services.

JSA

James Spence Authentication.

PSA/DNA

PSA's autograph authentication service.

Inscription

Extra text from the signer, like "HOF21" or "SB XXXVII."

Personalization

"To [name]." Usually lowers value.

Paint pen

The paint marker most helmets and jerseys are signed with.

Private signing

A company-run session where a player signs batches of items.

Show signing

A paid autograph at a card show.

IP

In person. Signed in front of the person selling it, usually unwitnessed.

TTM

Through the mail. Sent to a player to sign and send back.

Autopen

A machine that reproduces a signature. Not a real autograph.

Game-issued

Given to a player but not worn in a game.

Game-used

Worn or used in a real game. Prove it with a photo match.

Photo-matched

Matched to game photos by marks, stitching or wear.

Comp

A recent sale of the same item, used to price it.