Now that the 2018 NFL season has arrived, football fans and collectors alike have shifted their focus from projections and “What could be” to realizations and “What is” as their favorite team’s rookies and veterans start delivering performances on the field. That shift in philosophy from preseason excitement to regular season reality is certainly reflected in the newest NFLPA Panini Trading Card Index for the third quarter of 2018.
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley remains atop the rookie rankings in the new Index, which began in 2016 as a way to rank the top-performing football players (15 rookies, 15 veterans) in the licensed trading card industry. Once a quarter, the NFLPA Panini Trading Card Index ranks players based on several key factors, including secondary-market transactions, overall trading volume and collectibility based on on-field performance and expectations (e.g., rookie hype and collector speculation). New York Jets QB Sam Darnold lands at the No. 2 spot this quarter (up from No. 3 previously) while Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and Arizona Cardinals QB Josh Rosen round out the rookie top five.
The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2017-18 Opulence Basketball (80+ Pics)
Panini America’s new Opulence Basketball franchise arrives in hobby shops across North America on Friday ready for an inaugural run that’s steeped in luxury. As we noted in our initial post announcing this product, Opulence’s content delivers a best-of-both-worlds storyline detailing how the best parts of Gold Standard meld with the best parts of Preferred to create a completely new product. As you’ll see in the revealing Quality Control Gallery below, the product leaned heavily on both of those popular products for inspiration in terms of both content and design.
On average, each 10-card box of 2017-18 Opulence Basketball will deliver seven autograph or memorabilia cards, two base cards and one parallel numbered to 25 or less. All base cards are numbered to 79 and there are just 473 total memorabilia-only cards — all in the sublime NBA Finals Booklets insert featuring jerseys worn during Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals.
The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2018 Prizm NASCAR Racing (100+ Images)
There’s a lot going on in Panini America’s live-tomorrow 2018 Prizm NASCAR Racing — and that’s a good thing. It combines the pomp, pageantry and patriotism of NASCAR’s biggest superstars, legends and newcomers with the spectacular rainbow of collecting possibilities that only the fabled Prizm brand can provide. The product arrives in hobby shops across North America tomorrow with hobby boxes (12 cards per pack, 12 packs per box, 12 boxes per case) delivering, on average, four autographs, 24 Prizms and 12 inserts.
As you’ll see in the revealing Quality Control Gallery that follows, Prizm NASCAR Racing’s Rainbow Prizms remain superb and the Golds still glisten. Oh, and you can look far and wide and you might not find a better trading-card tribute to good, old ‘Murica than the National Pride insert that features the American flag, the Statue of Liberty and a Bald eagle.
Steeped in rich rookie content and rife with vibrant colors, Panini America’s 2018 XR Football arrives in hobby shops across North America on Wednesday determined and equipped to build upon last season’s strong debut. Packing in-demand Rookie Patch Autographs and some of the most attractive memorabilia cards you’ll see all season, 2018 XR Football delivers, on average, two autographs (including one Rookie Jersey Autograph) and one memorabilia card in each hobby box (seven cards per pack, two packs per box, 15 boxes per case).
Last week we brought you a revealing glimpse at some of the product’s many 1/1 cards. Today, we’re taking a deeper dive with the following Quality Control Gallery that showcases many of the gems that surfaced during the recent packout process. Enjoy the imagery and stay tuned for additional coverage.
In an effort to keep collectors updated on the status of those Panini America redemption cards that are currently being processed, we’ll post a list every week, like the one included in the attachments below, detailing the most recent cards being fulfilled this week.
The following list is intended to inform collectors about which redemption cards from which products are being processed this week. We’ll update this list every week so stay tuned next week if you don’t see your card here.
