REVIEW:2018 Panini Rookie And Stars Football

One of my yearly favorites since the late 90's, Rookies and Stars is back for 2018 and packing, well, rookies and stars. There is plenty to find in here so let's take a look at what I found in my break.

 

In every box of 2018 Panini Rookies and Stars football is 6 packs of 10 cards. There will also be 2 autographs and 2 memorabilia cards per box. Boxes are currently running $100.

The base set sticks to what we usually expect from Rookies and Stars. Some form of border and focus on the main player. I think the last few years definitely looks better than that plain while background they ran for a bit.

There are 200 cards in the base set with 100 veterans,

and 100 rookies. It seems to be the most basic base card set build for Panini now. My box lacked a Saquon so if any of you have one to trade or donate, I wouldn't mind accepting it!

As with any product, we see parallels. There are a few in Rookies and Stars but in a box there aren't many. I only found two in mine. True Blue /49 and 

a gold of future Giants QB, least I hope so with all of the cards I have of him, numbered to 10 of Kyle Lauletta.

 

Other parallels to find are, Green, Purple, Red, Longevity /75, Red&Blue /25,Black&Blue #5, Platinum 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

Inserts are plenty and plentiful per pack. Parallels for them include, True Blue /49, Gold /10, and Platinum 1/1.

Action Packed. Why they won't make this into a product again and bring back the embossing is beyond me. I have mentioned it multiple times.

Touchdown Club:

Precision Passers (both rookies and veterans in this insert series)

Standing Ovation:

Star Studded:

Rookie Rush. Lamar Jackson who I am looking for an autograph of. Got one? Let's trade!

Saquon Barkley!!! My first Barkleys from all four boxes of reviews. True Blue parallel as well.

Airborne. These are really cool and I can't wait to see Saquon on this next year. These are printed on the chrome technology and have parallels of Red /99, Pink /85, Purple /65, Orange /35, Gold /10, Green /5, Black 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

Great American Heroes. Once again printed on Chrome technology with parallels of,  Red /99, Pink /85, Purple /65, Orange /35, Gold /10, Green /5, Black 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

 

There are also Crusade inserts with the chrome technology but I didn't find one in this box. That's one of my favorite Panini inserts lines.

Time for the hits!

Year 1. Rookies and cardboard with memorabilia!

Great American Treasures. He his showing that this season!

 

This guy is pretty good on that Dallas defense *gag*

And my final hit is this  Great American Heroes /25 of Brian Urlacher.

Other hits not found in my box but could be in yours includes,

• Airborne Signature
• Crusade Signatures
• Dress for Success Autograph Relics
• Freshman Orientation Autograph Relics
• Great American Heroes Signatures
• Statistical Standouts Signatures
• Stellar Rookies Signatures
• Cross Training Relics
• Great American Treasures Relics
• NFL Authentic Relics
• Prime Cuts Relics
• Star Search Relics
• Team Duals Relics

OVERALL, well, my hits weren't the best until I discovered that Urlacher that saved the box at the end. I loved the chrome inserts especially with their shine. The rest of the product was basic which is what I expected. If you like Rookies and Stars before, you will like it once again.

However, if you don't want to fork out the money, 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 currently breaking this, you could put yourself in a good spot.

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

Review: Panini Prestige Football 2013

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, 8 Cards Per Pack
• Four Autographed or Memorabilia Cards Per Box
• Twenty-Four Rookie Cards Per Box
• Three Parallels Per Box
• Under $90 a box

BASE CARDS: Usually the product that "kickoffs" the Panini NFL card season is the second release for Panini this year. Prestige base cards stuck to their roots with a blend of team color and white. I think this years design is much bolder than last years and really stands out. I also like the fact that they focused directly on the player instead of adding in too much background on these. With this kind of color and design its best to focus just on the players as they did here.

The card backs are also well done providing you with not only stats, but a small writeup of each player. The faded player in the background adds a nice touch as well.

The rookie cards that fall one per pack,  also with Sp Variations (only about 6 this year compared to past years that had many), have pictures from their rookie premier shoot with the bold letters Rookie standing out as an attention grabber. Once again, its another fun feature I truly enjoy about Prestige that they separate designs from base and rookie.

We didn't land an Sp rookie variation in this box, but in another box break we did land one. You will have to wait for that break however to see it :)

 

INSERTS: This years Prestige inserts are some of the best looking ever. They brought back the rainbow foil to the Extra Points parallels which is a huge upper compared to last years that seem to lack with just a small bottom foil color. The harder to get colored ones are numbered such as the Stevie Johnson that is a purple extra point that is limited to 100. Others such as blacks can be even tougher to find # to 10 (another thing you will see in our other box break of the product)

The rookie inserts are also very impressive with Draft Day Tickets (the Ellington is a parallel # to 100), NFL Passport and NFL Draft City Destinations (also available autographed see below). The designs are very much the same as last years, but that is not a complaint at all. I really dig what they are offering for the rookie inserts especially in terms of design. And even though this class was defensive and offensive line heavy, Panini seemed to have put mostly offensive weapons onto these cards which also helps in terms of box value.

Another positive about the inserts in Prestige is the acetate inserts of the veterans. Die Cut as well. These however are only found maybe a couple a box so tougher pulls than the rookie inserts that you are more likely to see. But who doesn't like a piece of acetate with a beautifully done design.

And then we can finally discuss my favorite of the group, though it was hard to choose, the Prestigous Picks. An insert that has always been a fan favorite in Prestige has a new take on it...micro etched technology! Something you usually only found in Totally Certified. I like that Panini changed things up a little and carried a technology from one brand into another. The micro etching really stands out with the gold color and color player photo as you can see above with the Montee Ball. This is something I would like to see a base set done of.

AUTOGRAPHS: Two autographs per box. One On Card. We lucked out and got highly touted Packers rookie runner in Eddie Lacy in that outstanding Draft City Destinations design. I like the fact that Panini used a landscape design for this as well.

There is also one Extra Points auto per box as well as we landed top pick in Eric Fisher. Though the design is nice, the disappointment here is that they are not numbered. At least the base ones and not the parallels. For me, I would have liked to seen it numbered to 299 or less.

From the breaks I have seen, it appears there is good mix of at least one "star rookie" auto in a box with at least one offensive lineman or defensive player in a box.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: Gamers is a nice looking jersey card set with faded player in the back and full color in the front. One of the better designed jersey cards out there. If you are going to pull a one color swatch, I would want a design like this to make it more collectible.

However, I was really stoked to see more micro etching as they carried it over to the Prestigous Picks jersey cards. These are numbered to 299 and more importantly look outstanding especially in person.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Panini kicked off with Score which rocked. And then they followed up with a solid release in Prestige that was muchly upgraded from last years in all aspects. The inserts are fun, the price is reasonable, and the hits are there waiting for you.

With 4 hits per box, loaded with inserts, rookie cards, possible low numbered parallels, and once again a decent price, Prestige is well worth a buy and you would regret not giving it 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: 4
                Insert Design: 5 maybe even a 6
                Memorablila/Autographs: 5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4.5

Very Nice Panini Redemption Card Mail Day

 

This just came in the mail yesterday. Originally it was supposed to be a Archie Manning Inked auto card numbered to 10 from Panini Limited but instead I had it replaced like I do with all of my redemptions after 4 months unless its a card I really don't mind waiting for.  I contacted Panini CSM on Twitter, got a quick response, and within two days this beauty arrived. This card is numbered 2/10 and going straight to the PC. My first auto of Bradford.. I think its an equal trade off when I had it replaced. Just hoping that Bradford can finally pan out to be the first overall pick he was supposed to. 

Let me know your thoughts on this card and if you think this was an equal exchange.

Review: Prestige Football Hobby Box 2012

The product I most sought after when the Football card season started was Prestige 2012 and it did not disappoint me. Despite me not hitting an RG3 or an Andrew Luck base rookie card and my hits not really being top...I still LOVE this product.

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.

And as always...we will do some giveaways from this product!

Here is my review:

Box: I love the design. Peyton's replacement is a attention grabber. The box lets you know the hit amounts per box and it has a clean design.

Wrapper:  Just like the box..I would definitely pick up pack or two.

Base: Panini cleaned up the base card design this year and something spectacular came out. Best base design I have seen in this product! The rookie cards match the base. But with this years Prestige...the rookies are in their NFL uni's!

Inserts: As you can tell, Prestige has many different inserts you can land. The extra points are different this year but I like the change. A border on the bottom just above the players name that says Extra Points. We landed 2 of the Blue color numbered to 999 and many of the gold. The other inserts look great as well! Especially the Draft City Destinations. Something about it is very eye catching.

Rookie Variations: You get one of these per box! And this years is less confusing to figure out which is a variation and which isn't. I like how Panini did a draft pic with their teams jersey as the variation.

Memorabilia: You get 2 of these per box. The design is very nice. Really love the Ryan Matthews Prime hit!

Autographs: Two autos per box. The Draft City Destinations are signed on-card!

Overall: For around $100, You get a good mix of rookies (1 per pack), 2 autos and 2 jerseys, a decent amount of inserts and overall you get a good bang for your buck. Some great finds can be had in Prestige!

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: 5