Panini America World Premiere: The 2011 Playoff Contenders Football Rookie Tickets

Following a brief dose of social-media suspense-building yesterday and a visual history lesson earlier today, the time has come for Panini America to unveil the design for its ballyhooed 2011 Playoff Contenders Football Rookie Ticket Rookie Cards.

The 2011 edition of this perenniel pigskin product-of-the-year favorite will hit shelves in early January, but we all know it’s never too early to pull the curtain back just a bit on something this special.

The cards you are about to see finished printing just last week and many of them have already been shipped to the respective players on them for autographs. For just the fourth time since 1998 (but the second time in three years), one of football’s flagship brands will utilize a horizontal format and perhaps its most vibrant color schemes ever.

Take a look for yourself below. After you’ve had the chance to soak it all in, please let us know what you think. The three most constructive/thoughtful commenters just migth be on the winning end of some “absolutely” sweet football cards in the near future.