From the beginning, I never really liked Press Pass. I always considered them to be a lower tier of card, even though they often went for on card autos and inscriptions. As an NFL fan, I never liked college cards, if not only because value always tanked once the real stuff hit. More importantly, since the College exclusive shifted to Upper Deck, Press Pass has not had anywhere close to the success they used to.

Check out some of these cards, they arent the disasters they used to be:

2011 Press Pass AJ Green Auto

2010 Press Pass Tim Tebow Auto

2011 Press Pass Cam Newton Parallel Auto

For 2012, it looks like Press Pass is going back to basics, and that is a very good thing. Even better, they seem to be adding more inscriptions to the product than ever. Although their product is still going to face the EXACT same challenges it did in previous years, it looks a lot better than it has in recent years.

That’s not even the half of it. In a sort of coup, Press Pass managed to sign Andrew Luck to a non-licensed card exclusive, which means that neither SAGE, Leaf, Upper Deck or others can produce non-NFL cards of him, at least until the draft. Im not too clear on the lingo, but it may be longer than that. Outside the fact that I am not a fan of exclusives at all, this is a very bad thing. Leaf and Upper Deck produce FAR superior cards in my opinion, and I do not welcome this type of limitation. I have stood by the fact that QUALITY of the card should drive consumer loyalty, not a forced and captive situation.

Even though I am not a fan, Press Pass has a loyal fan base since the college days, which is where they make their money. Now that Luck is theirs and only theirs, it will only help them further. People always used to wager on golf with “Tiger vs. the entire field.” If I am a betting man, I would not have an issue taking Andrew Luck in a similar bet versus the rest of the draft class.