REVIEW: 2014 Rookies and Stars Football

Rookies and Stars is Panini's third football offering of the season. Now, I may have done my reviews a little backwards by doing Elite first, but I wanted to go in order of the ones I liked best. If I had to choose, I would choose Rookies and Stars over Elite. Why you may ask, well, read on!

Before I start my review, here are many places you can find Panini America: Their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. If you don't follow them you should! They interact with you on Twitter, have contests on their blog and Facebook and the site is also fun to visit!

Now onto the review:

BOX BREAK DOWN:  

20 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack

Four Autograph or Memorabilia Cards

- See more at: http://www.dacardworld.com/sports-cards/2014-panini-elite-football-hobby-box#sthash.rIpKSdxT.dpuf

• 24 Packs Per Box, 8 Cards Per Pack
• Four Autograph or Memorabilia Cards
• Around $90 per box 

Other than every box delivering four autograph or memorabilia cards, you should also find two SP Rookie Cards, six inserts, six parallels and eight Crusade inserts.

 

BASE CARDS:This years base cards for Rookies and Stars are a bit different than past years. For many years, they used to be an all white background. Last years design, which I think was the best base card design they had in this product yet, had the player's last name running down the side of the card with a bit of action photography blurred in the background. This years design, seemed to had taken a step back in time, but instead of an all white background, it has an all color background that matches the player's team color.

They have also changed the rookie cards by making them offset from the base card design, which I like, than added a variation to 25 of them. In every box you should find two of these variation cards. I consider myself lucky hitting the top two rookie QB's. I am glad to see the rookies as part of the base set again being a rookie card collector. It adds value and a chase to collecting the set.

There are a total of 200 cards in the base set. 100 rookies and 100 veterans.

INSERTS:Colorful is the first word I think of when it comes to Rookies and Stars inserts. I am a huge fan of what Panini put in for inserts in this years product. They are well designed and standout. The only one I have an issue with is Longevity. I must have missed all of mine the first time around. The foil used blends in with the card so well it is hard to tell the difference. However, the parallels to Longevity such as the Team Logo Holofoil of Jordy Nelson (# to 32) and the regular holofoil of Tony Romo (#d to 99) have a rainbow effect to them making them easier to find in packs. I hope Panini finds another way to do Longevity so they are easier to spot in the future.

Rookies Longevity Team Logo Hoil Foil

My favorite insert and I have stated this before is Crusade. They are just beautiful. If you enjoy things that are chromed and have a refractor appeal, well, these will be up your alley. I wished Panini would make a product of these just like they do in basketball. I would definitely set build em! They did this years differently having all of the veteran ones portrait while making the rookies go landscape. Being someone with Card OCD, I prefer they all face the same way especially since I put mine in binders, but, the design is so spectacular that it doesn't bother me too much.

The Crusades also have parallels, some rare.

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS:I pulled two autographs as stated in the box. One was of Jets safety Calvin Pryor (Longevity also) and the other is a two-color patch auto numbered 6/10 of Giovani Bernard. I really like the design on the Bernard. Seems Panini went bright and bold for this product.

You can find other autograph offerings such as Rookie Material Signatures, Rookie Slideshows (piece of a slide and an autograph and something I want bad) and Longevity Autographs.

MEMORABILIA CARDS: Wooo hoo! Found a sweet low numbered to 25 2 color patch of Manziel! My first hit of him this year.

I got the two memorabilia cards that were guaranteed and both were of rookies which to me is a great thing because it adds more value. I got both a rookie material and a Freshman Fabric. You can find veteran memorabilia in here as well.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Rookie and Stars has a lot going for it. One, set collectors can put together a set and I think even a master set with the rookie Sp's which I don't believe would be a daunting task but yet a fun one. The inserts are bright, colorful and offer plenty of collect-ability with their designs. Especially the Crusades and their parallels.

The overall value I got in this box was great. I hit two of the best rookie Sp's, the Manziel patch #d to 25 and Bernard auto/patch numbered to 10. I haven't seen too many bad breaks of this product and with a deep rookie checklist with the deep class there is plenty to collect in here.