We've all gotten an autograph from an athlete and had that deflated reaction.
Is that really your signature? Couldn't you have put in a little more care and effort?
Many collectors had that reaction after the first round of the NFL Draft when No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward's signature appeared on a triple-auto card with fellow top picks Caleb Williams and Bryce Young.
With athletes signing thousands upon thousands of stickers for card companies, the results are quite often rushed and underwhelming.
Is there any sort of quality control? In this installment of Hobby Confidential, cllct went to an anonymous executive at a card company, who offered the following details:
As told to cllct's Darren Rovell:
When I saw Cam Ward's autograph on a card recently, my reaction was the same as a lot of you likely felt.
It was gross.
A C and a small W? We pay north of $50 for that?
And you, the consumer, get that card and look in disbelief at the auto. If you don't think that partly ruins the card, you're sadly mistaken.
But I'm speaking, without my name of course, because I want you to know the position we are in at the card companies.
These guys are signing 5,000, 10,000 autographs, and they just want to get through them. They aren't thinking about us or you.
But they get away with it.
Why? Because they say, "That's my signature."
They sign an affidavit every time they send in the signatures, affirming the autograph is in their hand.
There have been some controversies — such as the Dak Prescott autopen.
But when I've asked if an agent if these guys have signed them, they say yes.
And if the athletes say that it's their signature, can I say, "Well, it's a crappy signature?"
Not really. If I do, the agent and player won't work with us again.
But it's really a shame.
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An international soccer star sent us two completely different signatures. A recent draft pick signed initials for us when we were paying him, and then we saw him the same day sign a ball where you could read every letter.
People say these kids aren't learning cursive anymore, or they simply aren't writing, they're typing. So, it's sloppy. I buy some of that. But you have to know when something looks terrible. Have some pride.
Cam's signature is indicative of so many players. It often starts as a full signature and then, as they sign more, it gets worse and worse.
There was an agent one time who told me the reason his athlete had three different signatures in one batch was because he was trying to keep people from forging his autograph.
It's all about efficiency. It's why you see superstars who have nice autographs, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, change their signatures after their rookie deals.
A lot of it also has to do with not enough people in power publicly complaining — so they get away with. If a guy doesn't have an exclusive contract, and everyone wants to have a guy, they deal with it.
What is happening is ruining the quality of what you all are getting in packs. But I'm here to say there's very little we can do about it. I fear it's going to only get worse.