One of my favorite rookie laden products year in and year out Contenders is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. And Panini did a great job
in celebrating it with the product adding a base card flashback mocking the originals design from 98. Now onto the review and my thoughts on the 2012 edition:
First off, I would like to say thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Panini America for providing us with this box to review. Here are many places you can find Panini America:
official site,
blog,
Twitter, and
Facebook. If you don't follow them at all..you should! They talk to you on Twitter, have contests on their blog and Facebook and the site is also fun to visit!
Box Break Down:
- 24 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
- Five Autographs Per Box!
- Three Rookie Stallions Per Box!
- $140 a Box
BASE CARDS: I liked the original design which means I am going to like this one as well. There is just something about the Season Ticket design that is catchy. Is it because its supposed to resemble a NFL ticket? Is it the team color scheme on one side the white on the other? Hard to tell. But this is one of my favorite base card designs.
INSERTS: Die cuts make a great addition to this product which my favorite of the two is by far the Rookie Of The Year Contenders. Really like what Panini did there in terms of turning the die cut into a shape of a trophy. The Playoff Tickets are a parallel to the base cards and are numbered just like the original product. Another insert that is very catchy is the Super Bowl one. The design is spectacular and elegant and improved over years past designs. You get about almost 13 inserts in a box. Or thats what ours had.
And BAM!!! ON CARD ANDREW LUCK!!!!!
AUTOGRAPHS: The product says 5 autos per box but most of the time boxes will hand you 6 which I really like and for the price you pay you somewhat hope to land that many. This product has always been about its autographs, especially its rookie ones. You get one on card per box, which we LUCKED out with ours. Still shaking from seeing this incredible card. The fun thing about this product is chasing the Sp rookie auto tickets, the variations of them (missing some data on the back check the link below to see how you can tell) and seeing rookie autos and rookie cards of players you don't find in every product. Some of whom turn out to be stars in the future.
A list of those Sp's can be found here which also brings you to the Knights Lance:
http://sportcardcollectors.blogspot.com/2013/02/panini-contenders-football-2012-sps.html
JERSEY/PATCH CARDS:N/A
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Once again, if you are a fan of rookie autographs, this is the product for you. This product is not for everyone though. You can have those great boxes with some top rookie autos or you could have those ones that you never heard of with a few sprinkled in names. I have seen both. As was the case in this box. The first 5 autos were mostly nobodies than BAM came the big hit of Andrew Luck. It may not happen every time but there is plenty to find in this product with the rookie autos and all variations. And the occasional Emeril in you with the BAM in a box. With 6 autos and tons to chase, this product is well worth a try.
RATINGS: Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Packaging: 5 Base Design:
5 Insert Design: 4 Memorablila/Autographs: 4 Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4
