REVIEW: 2018 Contenders Optic Football Box 1

How business smart are you? I am not sure where I stand but Panini has it figured it.

What do you do? Well, you take a successful product and add a successful line to it and gel it together. Then boom, you birth out Contenders Optic. A chromed version of Contenders which I consider to be the most successful rookie card line out there. Been that way since the 90's.

The product worked well last season so it made came back another year. I didn't get to open any last year but got the opportunity to see a two box break for this year. How did my break go for box one? Well, let's check it out.

 

In each box of 2018 Contenders Optic, You will find one pack with 6 cards in it. Each box comes with two autographs and one that is signed on-card. Boxes currently run $135 per.

 

The base set is chromed up versions of the base for Contenders.  There are 90 star player cards to seek for the base set, along with 10 Rookie Base Card Contenders for a total of 100 cards. The cards are much thicker than regular Contenders. About the thickness of a filler card.

 

As with anything chromed, there are parallels to seek as well for both the base and the rookie base. I pulled a red /199 of Sean Lee in this break. There is also, Blue /99, Orange /49, Gold /10, Gold Vinyl 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1. I think these would build one impressive rainbow.

There are roughly 6 insert sets to chase in Optic Contenders. All inserts are numbered to 175 with the following parallels, Purple /99, Orange /49, Blue /25, Gold /10, and Gold Vinyl 1/1.

X and O's insert is the one I found in my box. It is also the purple parallel /99.

Now onto my hits. One was a promised on-card autograph while the other was a sticker

 

Justin Watson Rookie Ticket autograph. There are 58 cards to collect.

My best pull of the box was this Rookie Of The Year Contenders purple parallel /99 auto of Calvin Ridley. This dude could ball but needs a lesson in autograph signing.

Other hits not found in my box includes,

• Rookie Ticket RPS Autographs
• All-Time Contenders Autographs
• Contenders Tribute Autographs
• Franchise Honors Autographs
• Player of the Year Contenders Autographs
• Super Bowl Signatures
• Veteran Ticket Autographs
• 2017 Contenders Optic RPS Rookie Ticket Autograph

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really liked this product look. I have always been a fan of Contenders and this just amped up my love of the product. I do worry about dud boxes though and $135 for only 6 cards can be a big gamble. But, once again, isn't every product a gamble honestly.

My box was saved somewhat by the Ridley auto.

Another thing that would have been nice for a product like this, all on card autographs. At least the main guys are on card.

I think for a product like this it's best to stick with a box break and I strongly recommend using Midwest Box Breaks for your breaking needs. They are always hitting the big pulls so if they are breaking this, you could put yourself in a good spot. They also SHIP ALL CARDS! Get what you pay for!

Please thank Panini America and Tracy Hackler for providing this box for me to review to giveaway some of the hits ON TWITTER!! Please follow them on all social media sites and visit their website for all your card needs, HERE.