Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Since this is a Sports Illustrated blog, let’s expand our coverage to the newer or current issues.  I have spent years critiquing and informing with regard to mostly Pre-1980 SI issues.  I think it’s time to give the new stuff (post 2010) some respect. 

In the last ten years, I feel SI has really had their best game on.  I’d estimate that there are no less than 20-30 star athletes that SI caught with a cover very early or even before the athlete’s prominence. Isn’t that what drives collector interest?

 And it seems that this period has been particularly rich in star talent.  Here’s a few that I like, broken down by sport.

Baseball

Ohtani, Tattis, Betts, Trout, DeGrom, Freeman, Bryant, Scherzer, Strasberg, Judge, Guerrero, Lindor, Springer

Basketball

Note:  This decade, basketball has experienced an influx of super talent rivalling the Bird, Johnson, Jordan era.  Major publication SLAM has beaten SI to the cover on several of these superstars.

Morant, Williamson, Young, Leonard, Curry, Thompson, Durant (2006), Giannis, Westbrook, Bates, Harden, Davis, Irving, Paul

Football

Herbert, Lawrence, Burrow, Barkley, MaHomes, Hopkins, Murray, Tua, Wilson, Prescott, Jackson, Watt, Mayfield, Elliott, Watson

Golf

Leonard, McElroy, Chambliss, Keopka,

Other Sports – Tennis, Hockey, Soccer, All have one or two collectable covers.

Every one of the superstar covers above has wide ranging collectability.

It’s an incredible time to be collecting and/or investing.

Many of the sell prices are very affordable.  Of course, timing is everything and some are more collectable than others depending on current events.  I am very intrigued by the newest and brightest basketball stars.  These guys are the real deal and they’re so young.  Same with baseball.  This Ohtani kid is amazing.

One of the secrets in investing is to beat the crowd and be ready when the time is right.  With regular grading lead times out a year or more, your ability to predict the right covers in advance of increased demand, will be your greatest advantage, or maybe not so much.

My opinion on the collectability of newer SI’s is, yes, they are very collectable and don’t miss out.  This stuff is fun to collect and here’s an inside tip – Justin Herbert’s newsstand, regional, first cover in high grade condition is extremely hard to find.   Very low POP’s.  There’s just very few out there.  For this reason, I believe you will see this one increase in demand and value.  There’s something to be said for athletes we can watch on a daily basis.  We like that.  And it’s fun.  Who isn’t routing for Ohtani?

And this is all coming from a pre-1980 guy.    

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI and SPORT magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT!