We’ve seen some pretty bad autographs over the last 48 hours, and the quality of a signature is now a hot topic.
With that in mind, we decided to release our cllct10 list of the 10 worst pack-inserted card autographs. We’re laughing now, but the people who got these in packs definitely weren’t chuckling.
How these athletes actually did this while getting paid by the card companies is unfathomable.
Tell us who we missed, and we'll publish the best reader submissions in a future story.
1. Vernand Morency
Morency is the poster child for the bad autograph. Perhaps some of these players had a really bad day or needed to rush, but the former running back for the Packers and Texans only signs his “V” in auto after auto.
You’d think the card companies would say, “No thanks!”
2. Saddiq Bey
This particular subset was called “Sensational Signatures,” and yet Bey here doesn’t even give us ANY LETTER OF HIS NAME beyond the first letter!
We see an “R" and an “N” ... and nothing more for the fifth-year Atlanta Hawks forward.
3. Maurice Ager
Luckily, there isn’t a big market for Ager cards.
The Michigan State product spent five seasons in the NBA and played only 82 games. He apparently spent one second on every one of his card autographs. We give his “A" an F!
4. Won-Bin Cho
We’re not that worried about Cho since he’s only playing A-ball in the Cardinals system. However, if the outfielder becomes a major prospect, we’re going to need him to do something different with his signature.
Cho is currently playing for the Peoria Chiefs and is a career .257 hitter in three minor-league seasons.
5. Sam Ehlinger
Ehlinger has actually improved after the hullabaloo over his rookie auto, which is just inexplicable.
The former Texas quarterback has played in just eight career games in three NFL seasons with the Colts.
6. Jairo Pomares
Most of the time, a bad signature involves too little detail. For Pomares, a four-year minor-league veteran, it's a case of too much ... way too much.
It’s like his signature got chased around by bees.
7. George Pickens
Come on, George. You went to the University of GEORGia. You gotta give us more letters than THIS!
The Steelers receiver is entering his third NFL season, so hopefully, he has plenty of times to improve this effort.
8. Darnay Holmes
The definition of a signature does not say it has to be cursive, but it is the expectation. Panini should have rejected this autograph.
The fourth-year Giants cornerback looks like he's filling out a baseball lineup card for a designated hitter.
9. Moritz Wagner
Wagner is so close to having something great here — an M into a W.
But the former Michigan star and current Magic forward needed to workshop this one a little bit more.
10. Cam Reddish
My eyes hurt from trying to strain how this says "Cam Reddish."
Sign your dinner bill like this, not your trading card — especially for a card series called “Pen Pals.”
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.