There is one story out of the pre-season and his name is Dak Prescott. Not only did he play among the best in pre-season, but with news of Romo’s broken back, he is on track to play from week 1. Quarterbacks in the hobby are the only real value left in the hobby, and its clear that no one wants to miss out on Russell Wilson version 2.0. The problem is, all we have is a tiny sample size in a time when nothing matters.

These prices are literally insane:

2016 Origins Dak Prescott Blue Auto RC /25

2016 Certified Dak Prescott Orange Auto Patch /199

2016 Donruss Dak Prescott Auto Relic RC

2016 Leaf Metal Draft Dak Prescott Auto RC

Looking at the prices his cards are getting, it makes you wonder what people are thinking. Has he played well so far? Yes. Is he starting for an insanely popular team? Yes. Will he be the HOFer that people are paying for right now? Umm, signs point to odds being HEAVILY against that. The sad thing is, sales seem to be down across the board in football for obvious reasons, and any ray of sunshine gets more exposure than we could have ever predicted.

Bottom line here is that Prescott hasnt seen anything but vanilla on the defensive side, and that is a huge issue. Now that he is on a national stage, its going to be interesting to see how he handles the pressure. We have seen many pre-season champions turn into regular season bums, and that continue to be a reason why I have no idea why people are so eager to dive in head first.

I mean, comparative value in modern cards is so out of whack as it is. This phenomenon with Prescott seems to be the next in a line of many. He isnt the first guy to be in this position, and he wont be the last. However, if he can lead the Cowboys to a few wins, it might mean that the decision to put an aging Romo back in the saddle is a bit harder than it would have been.

Collectors will always be gamblers on potential, and that rising tide will lift all boats.

I was a big fan of Topps Inception. There were so many reasons why it was a game changing product that it isnt even worth recounting them all. Panini, being the uncreative bunch of rip off artists that they are, decided that it was worth their time to rip off every last little detail, and the result is Origins. Yes, they couldnt even come up with their own product. That is the company that now owns the NFL. Perfect.

Here are some of the bigger hits up so far:

2016 Panini Origins Ezekiel Elliot Booklet NFL Logo Auto 1/1

2016 Panini Origin Carson Wentz Booklet Patch Auto /25

2016 Panini Origins Dak Prescott On Card Auto RC

2016 Panini Origins Jared Goff Red Auto On Card /49

The sad thing is, Panini really failed to see all the minor details that Topps used to their advantage, and as a result, the product is about half of what it could have been. The stock isnt as nice, the retouching of the photos is less professional, and there are more 00 jerseys than there should be. Players like Braxton Miller were assigned a number the day after the draft, but has 00 in his photo. I dont get it.

All in all, I bought a few boxes just because I know on card autos and Panini are like oil and water. You dont get on card unless you wait for super premium with them. I was so disappointed in the quality of the product that it makes me sick to think how Topps lost out on a license where they produced the top cards on the market hands down.

Overall, if you are looking for Diet Inception, this is it. Origins does a good job of making a knock off version of inception, but as we know, knockoffs never measure up to the real deal. Plus, its Panini basically conceding that their design team cant match wits with Topps, as this literal copy shows absolutely zero creativity.

Football is a sad state of affairs this year, especially if this is all we have to look forward to. At least Inception will live on in Digital.

In the next 48 hours or so, Topps will be launching the first version of their football brand as a digital only product. Topps Digital recently signed a long term deal with the NFL to make their Huddle platform a unique part of their portfolio. This new direction is bittersweet to say the least, but it looks like they are ready to invest heavily in making their digital brands a huge focus for their future. Now that we have gotten the first look at the cards, its clear that Huddle might have a leg up based on their new situation.

This setup doesnt come without pressure, as its clear that Topps has to find extended success now that there is no physical card counterpart. In seeing the great offseason content they have tested, its becoming obvious that their design team is definitely up to the task. Where they had physical products to build from prior, they will now need to create a calendar that is devoid of the source material they once had. In a lot of ways, this could open up a more digital friendly landscape, as physical can present some unique limitations.

The gameplay is really what sets them apart even further from their competition, with live game points contests that drive prize rewards for showing chops in the fantasy world. They are already miles and miles ahead of Panini’s garbage attempt at a digital app, but the gameplay brings them a step further past the marker. Combining this with the on demand content that Huddle brings multiple times per day, and it is a much more interesting take on what makes digital so attractive.

I am fully aware of the stigma attached to digital, as many physical collectors really dont see the appeal. I have said many times that the app is designed as some top flight entertainment, not as a collection that is meant to be passed down to your kids. This entertainment can provide one of the most engaging communities with it, and that’s only the start. If you want something that delivers that type of gamaing experience, and you can put aside the idea that this isnt physical cards, it will be something you thoroughly enjoy. Because many physical collectors cant make that separation, digital focuses more on the people who love fantasy and digital games instead. Its really too bad, because trying it can be the beginning of a quite interesting new addiction.

As the brand unfolds in 2016 outside the confines of physical content, Ill have a ton of coverage on my other site – Digital Card Central. Check out @SCUncensored on twitter as well for up to the minute updates.

Unparalleled was unparalleled iin its horrible approach. It might be worse than both 2014 and 2015 Spectra, which are on my list of the worst products in the last 10 years. Spectra was so bad those two years that I could not fathom a product that had taken such a low dive on the shit scale. Seeing the terrible design, the stock patterns as crazy as they look, and the goofy ass posed photos make Unparalled a turd sandwich that is the leader in the clubhouse as the worst product of the year.

Check out this train wreck of a product:

2016 Panini Unparalleled Carson Wentz Auto Patch /99

2016 Panini Unparalleled Dak Prescott Auto Relic /199

2016 Panini Unparalleled Antonio Brown Auto /5

Enter Gala, which somehow, might actually be worse than Unparalleled. After being a complete flop in Basketball, Panini brought it to football solely because they need all the help they can get. They need 31 products this year, and they are obviously prepared to scrape the bottom of the barrel to avoid forcing their terrible product team to come up with a new idea.

Think Unparalleled is bad? Start running for the Panini provided barf bags:

2016 Panini Gala Paxton Lynch Auto 12/25

2016 Panini Gala Richard Sherman Starring Role Signatures

2016 Panini Gala DeAndre Hopkins Action Autograph

Aside from a horrible price point, Gala’s concept is about as bad as it can get. Panini wanted to use a hollywood type motif for the set, but failed to execute a clever way to make it work. We are left with sets like “Action Autographs” and “Starring Role Signatures” – names that make you wonder if someone just googled what to do for these titles.

The card design doesnt feature those god awful posed photos, but there are so many Panini pet peeves that are present in the product it doesnt matter. Giant white boxes have been replaced with giant foil boxes for the signatures, somehow succeeding in making a terrible Panini approach even more fucking terrible.

Releasing a few dogs happens to every company. Its just part of the game. However, these dogs are so bad that it makes me legitimately worried for the direction football cards are going. I have gotten numerous reports that sales are slumping across the board, and that shouldnt be surprising at all. Panini not only cant build new products, they are riding the struggle bus in trying to make their existing garbage attractive even in the slightest.

Even looking on many group break sites, sales are slowing to a snail’s pace, with many being forced to drop prices to the point of dealer cost just to get the wax off the shelf. Luckily I write this site for fun, because if I was actually doing this for a living, I would be beyond concerned with the future.

Gala and Unparalleled showcase an extreme lack of knowledge and effort surrounding any aspect of building a good set, and I wonder why they are so bad at making things better. They have had every opportunity to build their brand, failing every step of the way. Its sad, because Topps definitely closed 2015 so strongly that it became even more clear how big of a mistake the NFL made in choosing Panini.

Sad. So fucking sad.

Historically, Baseball hasnt done all that great with super premium products, save a couple success stories. With so much of the hobby focused on set collecting for so many years, it was hard to introduce a new model that collectors would accept. Although recently, Topps has had major success with products like Dynasty, it was going to be interesting to see how things would fare if they decided to go a step above that. The jury is still out on the Mint, but I will say the cards look nicer than ever.

Here is some of the awesome stuff up so far:

2016 Topps the Mint Alex Rodriguez Inscription Auto

2016 Topps the Mint Mike Trout Inscription Auto

2016 Topps the Mint David Ortiz Jumbo Patch Auto 1/1

2016 Topps the Mint Kenta Maeda Debut Date Inscription

2016 Topps the Mint Sandy Koufax Gold Auto Inscription

Funny thing is, on a per card basis, the Mint isnt more expensive than Dynasty. The configuration makes it more of an investment in one sitting, but Dynasty is still the most costly in the lineup if you put them side by side. Both feature great looking content, and with inscriptions plus MLB authenticated patches on a lot of cards, the Mint has its selling points. We are also seeing that non-sport signers like Sylvester Stallone and the cast from Bull Durham have cards too, which is an added bonus.

In terms of the card design, I really love the look of this set. It looks like a luxury car version of a baseball product, which it should. The black and gold plays very well, and the circular lines of the product plays in with a modern approach. There are also some unique booklets that feature some cool relics, and as mentioned above, the added inscriptions are a huge plus.

The Mint isnt devoid of risk that normally plagues high end products, even though the checklist is set up in a way that does promote a more even player distribution. If you buy in for a format that isnt group breaking, you are taking on a significant risk in walking away in the same fashion that recent comparable sets have promoted. More and more it looks like premium configurations are built for group breaking, despite the trends showing that it might not be the best way to build. Mitigating risk of losing your ass is a big deal in the hobby, which is why group breaks are so popular. But at what point should companies focus on changing the pack model and build to support more value, instead of supporting the group breakers who give collectors a way to engage without paying for the full product?

Its a concept that has always made me a bit uneasy. If product value hadnt become such an issue in the hobby, would group breaks be as mainstream as they are? Probably not as much. The Mint has brought things a little closer to center on value in the box, but its something that a collector has to pay a thousand dollars to get. Where is that same concept in a lower price point?