Imagine this, you save up for a few months and pay a couple hundred dollars for a hobby box to only pull an autograph that looks nothing like the player’s name. Surprisingly, this is not all that unpopular. As athletes enter the professional leagues they generally sign contracts with trading card companies that can have them sign upwards of twenty thousand cards or stickers. With countless hours spent signing a large amount of stickers and cards shortcuts are bound to take place. A name is shortened, initials are signed, and their number is left off, but what if players did more than that? These are the types of similarities these athletes have that crown them all kings of the worst autographs.
1. Anthony Richardson’s 2024 Panini Autographs
No modern list of the worst autographs is complete without mentioning Anthony Richardson’s “AR” autograph. Coming in at roughly the size of a dime, this underwhelming autograph almost mocks the collector that pulls it. By signing smaller he certainly saved some time overall, but didn’t gain any fans for this disappointing display. While this may be the only autograph in this list collectors would love to pull, Anthony Richardson could have put in just a little more effort into his shorthand. The good news is Richardson’s career, much like the rest of his name is still unwritten and he has time to improve his autographs.
2. Vernand Moracy’s Rookie Autograph
In 2005 Vernand Moracy was selected in the third round by the Houston Texans out of Oklahoma State. While his tenure in the NFL was short, just like his autograph, Moracy played only four years in the NFL due to injury. With two years under his belt for the Texans and another two for the Packers Moracy only scored four career touchdowns. While this is a lackluster statline, it is not as lackluster as his autographs for his rookie cards.
3. Jerry Jeudy’s Initials
Since his rookie year back in 2020 Jerry Jeudy has stuck to his guns. With initials that are basically two loops Jeudy seems to have found the cheat code to a simple and quick autograph. With other players such as JuJu Smith-Schuster having the same initials one could almost take the sticker off of a Jeudy card and slap it on JuJu’s and not know the difference.
4. Maurice Ager’s Autofacts Autos
Honestly this has to be the most minimal effort autograph I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of a painting you see in an art gallery where there’s a black dot in the middle of the canvas and they are attempting to sell it for twenty thousand dollars. However, this card is far from art. More reminiscent of the letter A minus a line, a teepee, or a singular mountain this autograph left many collectors scratching their heads and wondering what the point of even signing these stickers were.
5. Sam Shaw’s 2024 Bowman Autograph
The finals of our worst autographed cards go to a nineteen year old in the Blue Jays organization. With this autograph looking nothing like his name and even seeming to be letters that aren’t actually in his name it leaves many wondering what he was trying to write at all. Being chosen in the ninth round and still being young, Shaw may have to get used to signing balls, stickers, or bats and maybe with practice his autograph will look much better.
In the end, these autographs can be described in one word, embarrassing. Athletes can make a good chunk of change by signing for Topps, Panini, Leaf, or whoever desires their autographs. But with squiggles, mountains, and initials such as these maybe it would have been better for them not to sign at all, therefore allowing collectors to pull the autographs of athletes who put consideration into their penmanship. But who knows, maybe a player with a poor autograph turns out to be a superstar, number one overall pick, or a hall of famer. One thing is for certain though, these low effort autographs are not going away anytime soon.
