The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2014 Contenders Football Retail (66 Pics)

When the retail edition of Panini America's 2014 Contenders Football begins arriving on mass-retail store shelves next week, the brand will be packing a bit of history with it. For the first time ever, the fabled Contenders brand will deliver Rookie Ticket Swatches memorabilia cards, a retail-only inclusion that should fit perfectly alongside 2014 Contenders Football's calling-card Rookie Ticket Autographs.

Panini America 2014 Contenders Football Retail QC (2)

When the retail edition of Panini America’s 2014 Contenders Football begins arriving on mass-retail store shelves next week, the brand will be packing a bit of history with it. For the first time ever, the fabled Contenders brand will deliver Rookie Ticket Swatches memorabilia cards, a retail-only inclusion that should fit perfectly alongside 2014 Contenders Football’s calling-card Rookie Ticket Autographs.

In addition to traditional packs, Target stores will be offering a $49.99 blaster box that yields two Rookie Ticket Swatches and one autograph. Walmart stores will carry a $20 blaster box that offers one Rookie Ticket Swatches card in each 40-card box.

Late last week in advance of 2014 Contenders Football Retail shipping to stores, the Panini America Product Development team spent some quality time Quality Controlling the retail portion of the product. The following gallery details just some of the highlights that surfaced during that process.

As you’ll see, 2014 Contenders Football Retail includes a plethora of brand mainstays in addition to the Rookie Ticket Autographs, including popular parallels (Playoff Tickets, Cracked Ice) and insert sets (Rookie of the Year Contenders, Round Numbers, MVP Contenders and more).

The retail configuration also includes its own batch of Rookie Ticket Autographs SPs and several autographs that are retail-only. We’ll have more information on those — as well as complete coverage of the product’s hobby counterpart — in the coming days right here on The Knight’s Lance. For now, though, enjoy this extended Quality Control Gallery on the retail version.

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0 Replies to “The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2014 Contenders Football Retail (66 Pics)”

  1. I liked it when they released the retail after the hobby boxes, and put the SP auto redemptions in the blasters.. Currently finishing off my sets of 2010 & 2011. Still patiently awaiting my Jimmy Graham to be fulfilled…Speaking of 2011-anyone know if the Tyron Smith (SP’ed to 23) was a retail exclusive? Now THAT was mother of all SP’s!

    1. I don’t think the Tyron Smith was retail, was not a redemption. I had to pay $550 to get mine when it first came out.

  2. Contenders is the brand to find the unheralded rookie autos (undrafteds, late-rounders), because of its massive Rookie Ticket checklist and the fact that it’s such a late-season release. So yeah, there should be great rookies in both hobby and retail. My all-time fave. Mmm rich ‘n creamy Contenders…

  3. DT Aaron Donald has 31 Tackles, 7 Sacks and a FF, CB Jason Verret was playing very well until he tore his labrum in 3 places… there are always later-round draft picks who emerge, thus driving their only (usually) auto RC to impressive dollar figures.

  4. I remember buying a blaster last year and the only rookie card was the auto. Is that still the configuration for retail? It kind of was a downer to get a TON of common vets and only one rookie card. Still new to Contenders, so are the only rookie cards you get are auto? No non-auto base?

    1. There is usually a few numbered non-auto rookies but they are far and few between. Idk about this year and I didn’t get one last year. Actually the last one I got was when they were Playoff contenders and it was Ray Rice numbered non-auto. So that is a good question lol now I need to know for sure too lol

  5. I love this year’s card design but it irritates me seeing Jersey cards in Contenders. The staple of contenders has always been the autographs, especially of players that aren’t in other products and the low populated sp’s to chase after in retail and hobby boxes. It is also a big hit for people to have a challenging set to try and build.

    With what I believe to be your biggest competitor (Topps) messing up its staple hobby product (chrome) by producing an ungodly amount of cases and putting more color autos in retail than hobby (usually the opposite), I think I speak for the masses of collectors that we are/were highly awaiting the release of contenders from Panini to throw all of our money at but I feel that the addition of jersey cards will force people like myself from buying into this product as much as years past. Please rethink what you are doing here! Contenders sells great the way it is/has been for a long time, please don’t make it like all the other products and fill it with event worn jersey cards.

    I also am not a big fan of the new rewards card program and i hope that reward points don’t make it into this product or I will all but be done collecting until things improve in the hobby!

    1. I’m with you Bruce. Jersey cards do not belong in Contenders, even if it’s just retail. Retail was the place to find the SP auto’s, while hobby had the big names. It worked, so why fix it?

    2. Agreed with everything said. Wished so much that I had held off preordering Topps Chrome, because that was brutal waste of money. Thank god other people spoke up and no one is buying anymore of that crap. Love the design and what Contenders offers in odd rarity. Please no more “event worn” gimmick patches that replaces an auto.

  6. Kinda cool! Seems like most products now have a retail and hobby version. I like it. And I hope blasters continue too.

  7. I bought a $49.99 box today at Target, it had the two jersey cards but no autograph…what do I need to do/submit to get my autograph card?

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