If you haven’t been paying attention to Kon Knueppel this season, it’s time to wake up. The dynamic playmaker is cementing himself as a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender, stunning everyone who thought Cooper Flagg was a lock. But this week, Knueppel is in the news for something else.
Knueppel recently teamed up with everyone’s favorite baked snack cracker to drop the “Kon’s Double Double Cheez-It® Bundle.” Priced at a modest $20, the exclusive collaboration featured the ultimate crossover of his go-to off-the-court favorites: Cheez-It® White Cheddar and Cheez-It® Extra Toasty. The box even looks like it was designed to be a blaster box of sports cards.
The result? It sold out instantly.
If you missed out, you’ll have to wait until April 6th for the official restock. But the instant disappearance of this cheesy bundle raises a fascinating question for the sports card and memorabilia community: Why would anyone care so much about a box of crackers?
The Anatomy of a Pop-Culture Collectible
There is a brilliant, unspoken rule in the memorabilia world: Whenever you take a highly popular athlete and slap their face on something culturally ubiquitous, that feels authentic, you automatically turn a mundane household item into a coveted collectible.
We’ve seen this phenomenon for decades with the undisputed king of grocery-store grails: the Wheaties box. For generations, appearing on the “Breakfast of Champions” was the ultimate badge of athletic honor. Even today, the secondary market for these boxes is thriving. A quick search on eBay reveals tons of JSA and PSA-authenticated autographed Wheaties boxes from legends like Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, and Muhammad Ali routinely selling for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars. Heck, if you need a recent example the Timothee Chalamet Marty Supreme Wheaties A24 promo box is selling for easily over $100 on eBay right now.
But it isn’t just legacy athletes and legacy brands. Modern collectors absolutely eat up quirky, limited-edition food drops that lean into pop culture. Just look at what happened recently when Netflix dropped the Happy Gilmore 2 “Pieces Of Sh*t for Breakfast” cereal as an exclusive at Fanatics Fest. It was a hilarious, hyper-niche joke in a cardboard box. Today? It regularly resells for $90 on eBay.
What is the Resale Value of Kon’s Cheez-Its?
According to the official Cheez-It site, the Double Double bundle is meant to “celebrate his 100% real individuality and undeniable passion for the baked snack cracker made with 100% real cheese.” It’s designed so that every time Kon breaks another record, fans can “take out this flavor bundle and snack like a pro.” Is it a bit cheesy? Yes, but that’s the point.
But let’s be honest, most of the people who bought these aren’t opening them. They are going straight onto a shelf next to rookie cards and game-used sneakers.
So, what will they resell for?
Given Knueppel’s skyrocketing popularity and realistic ROTY trajectory, the hype is incredibly real. Once the initial FOMO sets in before the 4/6 restock, don’t be surprised to see these $20 bundles flipping for $60 to $80 on eBay to die-hard fans and niche collectors. As long as it’s not hyper, over-produced.
But here is the real kicker: If Knueppel decides to take a Sharpie and sign a few of these boxes, the value changes completely. Can you imagine an authenticated, signed box of Kon’s Double Double Cheez-Its? It could easily command $500 to the right person. It’s exactly the kind of weird, perfectly timed, culturally relevant artifact that modern collectors love to hunt down.
Until the restock drops, keep an eye on the aftermarket. And if you did manage to snag a box at retail price, maybe think twice before tearing into that Extra Toasty bag. You might be eating your investment.
