Since I have started collecting, I have always just looked to get as many autographs and high end cards of the players I chased. With now 35 sets a year being released under one banner, that becomes a significant challenge, especially if your team drafts a big rookie. For people that dont have unlimited budget, Im frequently asked on Twitter what cards are the most important to have, or which boxes are the more important to rip. Here is my take on what’s left now that my favorite products are no longer available from Topps.

Flagship Contenders 

It sucks that Panini has chosen to dilute their legacy brand names with so many different products each year, but at least the original is still one of, if not the most, important sets of the year. Because it is one of DLP’s original rookie card products, it had a certain legacy status when Panini took over. Tom Brady’s 2000 Contenders Rookie Ticket auto is probably on the mount rushmore of football cards, and that’s important to a lot of collectors who are looking to acquire new singles and rip a bunch of boxes. 

That doesnt mean the set is without issue, however.

Contenders has had some of the worst designs in the history of football cards. 2011 definitely fits that bill, and then some. It seems like the brand legacy that this set has is basically rooted in two sets, and somehow that grants a pass for all the shit ass looks that have been used since the first version of the product. 

Even considering that 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2014 are so god awful that they tarnish the overall name Contenders has, recently, things have been better. This year’s set is still yet to be determined, but it could end up being nice if the execution works in people’s favor. 

Because of the status here, QB autographs in the set are some of the most widely collected and highly valuable examples of the entire season. Although Im not a huge fan, owning a high grade cracked ice of any of the main QBs drafted since 2012 secures you a collection centerpiece. 

Flagship National Treasures

Like Contenders, there is inexplicably two versions of NT. The NCAA version holds water like a sieve, so dont bother unless you are looking to set your cash on fire. I experimented with some group breaks this year, and I cant move the cards for shit. NCAA is a license I hope Panini renegotiates in cost, because I fail to see any real long term value in any of the singles. Because of the huge cost of the license, we are doomed to sit through and endure products like NCAA NT, and it is a huge fucking money pit. 

On the other hand, the flagship NT set is the most valuable base rookie auto patch of the year. Because there are maybe 200 of each card, there isnt as much attention and movement in the market, but the value exceeds even Flawless. 

Much like Contenders, there are so many dark years of NT, that its hard to take the legacy of the brand seriously, but here we are. Panini got very lucky in 2010 when UD lost the license and Exquisite was forced to sit on the shelf. Topps put out a GORGEOUS set with 100% hard signed signatures in Five Star Football (my favorite year and set of all time), but because of a confusing parallel structure and its newness, people decided NT was the Exquisite replacement. It wasnt until 2014 that the overall design really hit its stride, but to this day, the set is full of stickers. That’s a big fucking stain on a set that is supposed to be the face of the sport, and I hate it. 

In spite of my hatred for the stickers, NT remains a favorite for big time investors, even though its literally only the main RPA subset that retains any value. You can likely get booklets, and insert autos for pennies on the dollar in comparison, and it all has to do with Collectors innate stupidity around a “true RC.” That whole concept is complete bullshit, but it contributes to these cards being the best of the best. 

Prizm

When Prizm first came out, it was no better than Diet Chrome. Topps Chrome was the most important set of the year prior to the departure of a competitive marketplace, and Prizm was created to ride those coat tails like a fucking barnacle on the side of a boat. If you want to see some fucking trash, go look at 2012-2014 Prizm sets. Panini didnt even do a good job in ripping off a small portion of Topps’ best.

In 2015, that changed considerably, with a migration to more of what the set is today. Even though Panini unceremoniously ripped off the Superfractor for some dumb reason, and then made the cards numbered /5, it still hasnt escalated the set to the top of the investment conversation. 

Even with some great looking designs over the last few years, as well as some nice improvements, Prizm still has sticker autos. In another mind numbingly stupid decision, Panini chose Optic as a way to bring hard signed autographs to the fold, even though the rated rookie cards look like fucking garbage. Prizm is one of the most heavily ripped sets of the year, and secondary market value on the wax continues to skyrocket season after season. With on card autographs in the mix, the whole dynamic could change. 

Now that the set has built up some legacy that doesnt involve 2014’s ghoulishly disgusting look, the set really has some legs without a Topps Chrome to carry the marketplace like it did in 2015. Prizm draft picks also took a break this year, so we get one NFL set for 2018 with the Prizm brand, and that is always a good thing.

Everything Else

Obviously, I left Flawless off this list because the rookie cards arent really the focus of the value there. Most of the rookie autographs arent even worth what the base Contenders tickets are worth, so there is a big gap in what should be done with the product and what IS done with the product. Flawless is not only too expensive for a sport like football, but like Treasures has an NCAA counterpart, whose existence makes my head hurt when I try to think about it.

Outside of the products mentioned above, Panini makes 35+ other products. Yep, wrap your fucking brain around that one. They will blame the license for the reason all the products are required to exist, but that is where the blame would fall squarely on the shoulders of the negotiation team. Basically, you have a few products that mean anything, and the rest might as well be one big clusterfuck of nothingness. The cards never hold value, the hits are full of sticker autographs, and when something awesome like Impeccable is released, with hard signed amazingly elegant cards, people write it off. 

Its sad that there are only really 3 major sets per year, and though arguments can be made for others, there just really isnt much defined in the Panini NFL legacy as a whole. Remove Contenders, Treasures and Prizm from the mix, Im not really sure what collectors have truly embraced.