Flawless is an interesting product in football. I say interesting because it wasnt born in football, and I still dont think it fits. Football is one of those sports where the rookie class dominates the collecting landscape for the year, and outside of that, its hard for mid range nice cards to sell well. Sure, there will be some cards that are always the exception, but as a rule the market is pretty soft overall. For a 1500 dollar box of cards, there really has to be a huge reason for the box to exist, and I didnt see that as the case in Basketball, and definitely not in football. Although the limited run of the product has kept sealed box prices high, the singles market for anyone not named Brady has come down CONSIDERABLY.

Here are some of the top cards from last year:

2014 Flawless Tom Brady Auto Jumbo Patch /25

2014 Flawless Cam Newton Auto Panther Team Patch /5

2014 Flawless Brett Favre Dual Patch Auto /25

2014 Flawless Emmitt Smith Jumbo Patch Auto

2014 Flawless Jerry Rice Dual Patch Auto /25

One of the things that made 2014 Flawless interesting above just the product itself, was the timeframe in which it was released. Not only was it on card and really nicely designed, but it was released in the middle of the season. If you know anything about how difficult that must have been, appreciation for the product would likely be higher. Now that the product is going to be released after the season is over, im not sure the novelty will be the same.

Although the main content does and has looked good for last year’s set, its almost identical in a lot of ways to what Treasures offers. Treasures is a garbage dump this year because of player photographs, but the designs are very similar to what we are seeing in Flawless, if not more desirable because of what looks like bigger patches on the cards.

Personally, this is a slap in the face when content isnt in a class on its own. Flawless needs to be 100% special. If you set out to take super premium to a level like we have here, it cant be the same shit with a new product name on it. So far, for both Basketball and Football, that looks to be exactly what it is and has been to this point. The fact that the designs are even remotely similar is just pure Panini. I just cant understand how you dont go a completely new way, or even just make sure NT is different.

Here are the reasons I love what Flawless brings:

• On Card Autographs – All cards are hard signed, which SHOULD be the standard for a product that costs this much. For the most part, this is still something to be happy about.
• Nice Design – I have seen only a few cards from Flawless based on Panini’s previews, but so far, it looks much better than anything they have released so far, minus Immaculate.
• Top Signers – Combine this with the on card autographs, and it becomes obvious that you have a good opportunity to do some great things with this product.

That being said, there are some MAJOR reasons why I think this product is a fucking joke:

• High Box Price – Not only is basketball almost all about super premium cards as the gold standard, but there are a lot more names that sell for a considerable amount. Low tier basketball rookies can sell for what top tier football rookies sell for. 1500 is way too high.
• Lack of Unique or Special Content – So far, for the extra money that we are required to spend on Flawless to get a box, it offers nothing that isnt available other places. The lack of chase content in last year’s product was a huge downer. No shields, no crazy multi signed cards, no real big element. Contrived scarcity doesnt account for lack of innovative content.
• Rookie Checklist – for whatever reason, Basketball is a collection of the best of the best rookies. There are dud non-rookies, but rookies were different. In the NFL you not only got the Fat Lever type dud players, but a ton of dud rookies as well. Another reason the 1500 isnt good for football.

Its going to be very interesting to see how the second year of Flawless does, made more interesting by the fact that the hype on the 2015 class seems to have cooled considerably. The addition of inscriptions to cards may change the way the set performs, something I am very excited about, but its probably not going to be enough to carry the second edition of a product that doesnt seem all that special all on its own.

Once the checklist is released, and we see who is a part of everything, as well as when the boxes will hit shelves, all could be on the line. If the set is released around or after the draft, and collectors have already moved on, good luck. If they find a way to make this fun, with some actually innovative content, there could be a run on it. Im not banking on any of that, however.