We are coming up on the big releases of the year, and with big releases come big cards. I posted a few days back about the devaluing of the NFL logo shield for rookies, and it got me thinking, what have been the best of the best over the last few years. There sure have been a lot, and I think that some are definitely better than others. Here is my list, divided into two categories.

Sticker Category:

2010 Panini National Treasures Colossal NFL Logo Autos

Usually, I hate Panini’s design work, and that hasnt changed all that much lately. In fact, I was incredibly surprised how cool these cards turned out. We got a full player silhouette into the design, and the horizontal orientation left room for a big swatch and the autograph. I only have one NFL logo in my Adrian Peterson collection, and its from this set. Even though they are stickers, they still look pretty well done.

2010 National Treasures Roddy White Colossal Logo Auto 1/1

2010 National Treasures Dallas Clark Colossal Logo Auto 1/1

2011 Topps Platinum Red Refractor Logo Autos

Just from gazing upon the design of the box hits from 2011 Topps Platinum, its easy to tell that these cards were in the mix. The design and the content of the card is done extremely well, and I think it is one of the coolest parts of the product. Even though rookies have an absolute ton of logo shields each year, these have held their value because they are full sized logos, well designed, and have an autograph.

2011 Topps Platinum Colin Kapaernick Auto Logo Red Refractor 1/1

2011 Topps Platinum AJ Green Auto Logo Red Refractor 1/1

2010 Plates and Patches NFL Logo Autos

The base jersey auto design out of P&P was awesome looking, and it was only fitting that the NFL logo parallel works just as well. I think there are a lot of ways to do a 1/1 logo parallel, but sometimes its better just leave the design alone and let the logo fill its place. For a while, I tracked these cards on eBay, seeing if I could pick one up from the deep veteran checklist, but my favorites are all too expensive still.

2010 Plates and Patches Tony Romo Auto Logo 1/1

Hard Signed Category:

2008 Exquisite Single NFL Logo Autos

This might be the best logo set of all time, and it is close to impossible to beat. Its only fitting that it comes from Exquisite, as it is one of the best products of all time. These cards feature hard signed veteran autographs, a stunning design, and well placed photography. I have been chasing the Peterson forever from this set, but the guy who owns it will not sell. Its beyond frustrating, as it is such an amazing set.

2008 Exquisite Matt Ryan Auto Logo RC 1/1

2008 Exquisite Eli Manning Auto Logo 1/1

2011 Five Star Dual Rookie Logo Autos

I loved 2011 Five Star, and I think it got a bad rap due to the lack of patch content in the booklets. The dual logo autos were beyond awesome, as the structure of the booklet helped to support two players with two logos. It was an extremely clean design with autographs in the right place, and I think it was a GREAT example of how to do a high end card in a high end set.

2011 Topps Five Star Christian Ponder / Kyle Rudolph Dual Logo Auto 1/1

2007-2009 SP Authentic 1/1 Rookie Logo Autographs

Im compiling the 3 years together into one entry, because all of them were done well enough to merit being on my list. SPA was an institution, and these cards were sometimes chased more than the Exquisite logo autos. I think that some of them are buried so deep in player collector PCs that they may not be sold again, but that is only a further testament to their collectability.

2008 SP Authentic Darren McFadden Auto Logo 1/1

2009 SP Authentic Patrick Turner Auto Logo 1/1

Im sure there are more that I am missing, with some honorable mentions like 2004 or 2005 Ultimate collection, but these are the ones in my mind that always make my jaw drop when they pop up on ebay. There are a lot of different reasons why companies should continue making cards like this, and I think that these are all at the top of the list.