The Essential Primer: Panini America at the 2013 NFLPA Rookie Premiere (Gallery)

One of the most important four-day stretches on Panini America’s 2013 calendar kicks off tomorrow in Los Angeles at the 2013 NFLPA Rookie Premiere. One of the sports card hobby’s marquee events, the actual 2013 NFLPA Rookie Premiere takes place Saturday inside the historic Rose Bowl. But the three days prior to that are filled with meaningful activities, too.

A small contingent of Panini America officials are hitting the ground in Southern California today. The rest of us will arrive tomorrow as 40 of this season’s top rookies begin making their way through the Panini America player lounge to sign the autographs, take the pictures and conduct the interviews that will drive virtually every NFL trading card product Panini America produces in 2013.

And on Saturday, the 40 rookies will gear up in their full NFL uniforms for the first time and take the historic Rose Bowl field for more photographs, more interviews, perhaps a few more autographs and, above all else, an entertaining experience with their fellow classmates.

Once again this year, Panini America officials are bringing with them several on-card-autograph options, including 2013 Prestige Football NFL Draft Tickets and NFL Passport, 2013 Elite Football Rookie Inscriptions acetate cards and the always-popular, multi-signed Pen Pals cards. (You can get a sneak peek at some of these gems in their unsigned state in the gallery below.)

Also below is the list of participating players.

Be sure to follow Panini America on Twitter and keep up with the #ScoreRookie hash tag all week long so you don’t miss any of the action. As usual, you can expect more than a few surprises from us, so you’ll want to stay tuned.

After you’ve checked out the following preview gallery, stick around for the list of the 40 players who will attend the 2013 NFLPA Rookie Premiere.

Here’s the list of participating players: 2013 NFLPA Rookie Premiere Roster