The Tiger Woods trading-card frenzy : He's already a grand master

Golf Digest, April, 2001 by Matthew Rudy

Tiger Woods is one of the most popular athletes in the world, but fans looking to collect his trading cards will have to dig deep to get one.

Unlike the other major sports leagues, the PGA Tour owns only broadcast rights to its superstars. A hobby company would have to make individual deals with each player if it wanted to produce a set of 2001 cards--easy to do with, say, Rich Beem, but far more difficult with Woods and his agent, IMG.

The result? Only two "official" Woods cards exist, both produced in limited quantities as part of a Masters set by Grand Slam Ventures in 1997.

Compared to what's available in other sports--148 different Alex Rodriguez and 108 different Kobe Bryant cards were available in 2000 alone--it's easy to see how online feeding frenzies for Woods cards develop. A version of a Grand Slam card with gold foil printing sold for $20,000 on eBay. Non-gold versions go for at least $200.

The ultimate "compliment" to Woods' popularity? Counterfeits are starting to appear.