If you are unfamiliar with the Rookie Premiere, today is the main event. The rookies put on their NFL uniforms for the first time, and head to the stadium for their first dress rehearsal as part of their new teams. Obviously, if you are not a fan of Panini, this day is going to be torture, but at least we can see some of the incredible things that Topps Digital is doing with their apps.

Panini

If you expected them to spend the day taking action shots of the guys running simulated scenarios on the field, yeah you picked the wrong company to follow. Even though Panini had the entire field to work with for most of the day, it looks like they spent just as much time taking rookies off the playing surface and using them for stupid gimmicks that dont involve the reason why everyone goes to the event.

Back when the event was conceived, it was to provide a place where the card companies could simulate photography that look like in game shots. Because some of the rookies wouldnt see the field during their first year, at least in time for actual photos to be available and processed, the Premiere offered a unique opportunity. Similarly with all photos taken at the premiere belonging to the companies themselves, there was no cost to acquire rights. Those principles are still in place today, and for many years Panini has completely made terrible use of this opportunity.

Their signature is avoiding the visually stunning photography that can be generated at this event, instead opting for goofy posed pictures of the rookies without their helmets on, or in a room constructed for them to pretend to tear a football in half. If anyone wonders why so many cards from Panini feature this type of horrible looking pictures, its because they spend so much time at this event generating it.

In fact, for some of their cards, instead of retouching college action shots for use in NFL branded cards, like they did in previous years, all retouching was done on publicity head shots taken around the NFL draft and during the premiere’s opening days. Yes, it seems as though Panini is DELIBERATELY moving away from photography that looks the best on a trading card, in favor of the inexeplicable Human Bobblehead and other questionable uses for the time spent during the event.

This is why I hate Panini’s cards. They opt to produce them in a way that literally drives me up a fucking wall. I love football for action on the field, not glamour shots in a studio. From the looks on the rookies’ faces, I can tell they probably feel the same way. Considering that the field is there for the best results, and they choose consistently to avoid it, makes me angry. What is the point of this event if they are not going to use it for what it is worth?

Topps Digital

For the first time, Topps is appearing at the event without a physical license. As a licensee with the NFLPA under their digital license, Topps was granted space on the field, but likely no access to the players running around for Panini’s photography. Obviously Panini wants the event to themselves, especially when the Topps Digital team has just signed a long term deal with their exclusive physical provider.

Huddle has shown that the market for football cards on the digital side is a booming industry, much the opposite of the slowly collapsing physical side of the card business. With tens of thousands of users, Huddle likely has more people engaging with their product on a regular basis than Panini does with their new physical products at any given time.

We're not only doing #LiveSig's…look for cards of the guys' favorite plays from college! pic.twitter.com/UCHBU0ISIx

— Topps NFL HUDDLE (@ToppsHuddle) May 21, 2016

Topps had some great ideas for the event as well, with live signatures and drawn plays by the rookies all to be featured in beautiful cards featured in Huddle. It also looks like they made use of their tent space, looking for ways to get photos of the rookies for the app, despite not having the field to work with.

A power play for a power back. Look for it in #ToppsHUDDLE soon. #RookiePremiere #LiveSig @Budda03 pic.twitter.com/KKe5yMFOpY

— Topps NFL HUDDLE (@ToppsHuddle) May 21, 2016

Topps has always produced better cards than Panini has from a design perspective, and its clear that they know what they are doing on the digital side as well. With new content delivered multiple times PER DAY, at ANY TIME of the day, collectors can engage with the app at their leisure without leaving their homes.

This is the first time the Huddle app has been NFL licensed at the time of the rookie premiere, and its going to be very cool to see how they adapt to life without the anchor of a physical license in their back pocket. Where Panini seems to be absent of a thought of the difference between their ass and their elbow, Topps continues to innovate across the brands they have left.

Can't wait to get this #ToppsHuddle #LiveSig play on a card! @KingTutt_chdown with the catch on the deep ball. pic.twitter.com/C489X3FOIO

— Topps NFL HUDDLE (@ToppsHuddle) May 21, 2016

As we have seen from Panini, all they care about is cardboard cutouts of instagram windows and ripping off Topps’ old ideas than actually doing anything creative on their own. This is as sad as I have ever been for Football cards, and the rookie premiere is the first experience of what life will be like when Panini has full control. What. a. fucking. joke.

In 2016, all products have parallels. Every. Single. Last. One of them. Some products have so many parallels that the structure doesnt make sense. Some parallels are so worthless that they have less value than the base.

Knowing all this, leave it to Panini to call a product Unparalleled. Im guessing there will be PLENTY of parallels. Its even mentioned in the sell sheet.

I understand that they were trying to use the word in context that the product would have no equal, but that is just something that most collectors are going to laugh at. Its like saying “Man, I paid an arm and a leg for this” while talking to an amputee. There are just some synonyms that arent worth using.

The product itself is a fucking joke, as has been just about every other product that Panini has on the calendar this year. We almost need a checklist for all the dumb gimmicks they use, and this product satisfies almost all of them.

Stupid posed photos instead of dynamic action shots? Check.

Separated signature area with an ugly big white box? Check.

Crazy eye pain brought on by overly busy stock patterns? Check.

Rainbow foil? Check.

Lame set names that use horrible alliteration? Check! TIMES TWO! COMBO MOVE!

Its all there. If they use acetate in this set some how, that’s the coup de grace.

Panini sucks at making cards. They suck at building new brands. They suck and creating themes for products, and the primary and secondary market performance of these products showcase that no one likes what they do. For obvious reasons, the NFL cared more about money than product performance, and now we have a Panini exclusive.

Eventually the product shelves will be so full at the distributors with unsalable inventory that Panini will have to give out free packs all year long. Fuck them for ruining football even more than it was already ruined.

Im not sure what to say here. We all knew that Panini has a HORRIBLE track record of building new football products, and we know that Topps literally took them to school with Inception for a number of years. In terms of products that are signed at or prior to the Rookie Premiere, there literally was no better product in the bag. Topps Inception was so good, it offered content that Panini could only dream about, before they could finally put out high end stuff like Immaculate much later in the year.

Enter Panini Origins.

When you see the pictures, you are going to look for the Topps logo and the Inception name. You will want to believe that a miracle has happened and somehow Panini does not have the exclusive. You will be wrong. Origins is very real. Panini literally has produced the equivalent of those fake sunglasses you can buy on the street. This is Panini’s Faux-kleys product.

Now, I am happy we get SOMETHING like Inception. The cards look good. They really did a good job ripping off Inception down to the blotchy background behind the player. Im glad the Rookie Premiere content that wont be 100% cards like those horrendous Pen Pals cards they have been touting.

I just find it fucking hilarious that Panini is so incapable of originality that they literally have to resort to this. You guys can all thank me for warning you when Khrome and Six Star become Panini’s newest product lines.

They arent being shy about this whole thing, and if they meant it like a middle finger to Topps, its not working. It only looks more and more like they have no idea how to cultivate their own brands from scratch. Seeing this should just reinforce how big of a mistake the NFL made. Too bad its not about the cards and its all about the money. If it were about the cards, this would be hard to shake.

I was depressed that Inception was gone, but I cant say I am less depressed that Panini is playing Weekend at Bernie’s with Topps’ dead sets.

All of you are likely familiar with Finest, but I would guess very few of you expected distribution 100% through non-traditional channels. Its been a long time coming, but Topps is the first company to take one of their top performing brands, and release it 100% through their online store. To be honest, im wondering what took so long. The cards have started to show up.

Here are some of the hits up so far:

2016 Topps Finest Mystery Redemption Auto

2016 Topps Finest Kris Bryant Auto

2016 Topps Fines Sandy Koufax Greats Auto /40

2016 Topps Fines Jacob deGrom Auto Red Refractor /5

The main thing here is that Topps has basically taken the distributors and shops out of the equation, hoping to go direct to consumer with this release. I love the idea, as it will open up the hobby production to everyone direct from a source that they have no reason not to trust. There are lots of places where you can buy cards online. Some of the places are reputable, others are not. I have no clue why this is the first time we have seen Topps use online store purchase availability, and hopefully this will be something that we see as an option from this point forward.

If you want to buy cases and boxes, here is the link.

As for the design of the product, the cards are very much in the theme we have seen finest use in the past. Very modernized backgrounds, colored refractors, and all sorts of inserts. Im not liking this design better than 2015, but I dont think it looks awful either. Being that this set has to differentiate itself from other Chrome stock products like Bowman and Topps Chrome, they have to take a different approach to avoid being lost in the shuffle.

I love that they havent cut back content just because the product isnt available in a traditional method. There are still on card autographs, and the checklist is still the names we expect. The variables are worth taking a look at before diving in, but singles could be worth picking up.

Again, I hope this isnt the last time we see Finest or any set come in this fashion. Card companies need to use their stores to competitively price their boxes and get them into the hands of collectors who dont want to buy online and dont have a hobby shop in their area.

This is the event that everyone has been waiting for since the 2016 NFL Draft at the end of April. The one time that trading cards are the focus of the NFL world, and this event is the epicenter of that push. Over this week, the top NFL rookies will travel to LA and engage with the press, the trading card companies, and spend a day in their new uniforms for publicity photos. Here is a list of some important things to be on the lookout for, as this event feeds some of the most important pieces of the industry.

Panini Takes Over

For the first time ever, only one company will have the license to create physical trading cards. Panini paid through their nose to get this opportunity, and the rookie premiere is the first time that they will be on stage as the primary vendor for the event. You can expect a publicity blitz, both from the NFLPA and Panini about how much this partnership means to everyone, and its very likely the players will be involved as well. Panini’s adverblog will be on tilt with premiere coverage, and they will want to make sure that you see them at every turn during this week. They pay A LOT of money to throw this massive get together, and they want that money to count.

2016 Product Content

During this week, Panini will likely be putting out tons of content around their 2016 product lines, including previews of what some of the content looks like. We know that last year, Panini only had one hard signed set that was signed at the premiere, and the rest were sticker replacements like acetate scraps, manu-patch scraps, and other junk that isnt trading cards. Im VERY curious to find out if they pull their head out of their ass and get some real work done on hard signed material for the rookies. Im not holding my breath though.

Here are some of the cards that have been signed at the premiere from previous years:

2012 Prestige Draft Ticket Andrew Luck Auto

2014 Elite Blake Bortles Inscriptions Auto RC

2014 Prestige Odell Beckham Road to the NFL Auto

Unfortunately, the company who made the best use of the premiere will no longer be there to get cards signed:

2015 Inception Jameis Winston Inscription Auto

2015 Inception Amari Cooper Laundry Tag Booklet Auto

Topps Digital’s Presence

Much to Panini’s chagrin, Topps will not be completely shut out of this event, and I could not be more happy. If last year was any indication, Topps will have representatives from their digital team in attendance, and they will be gathering content for use in their Huddle app. Huddle recently signed a new long term deal with the NFL, so expect that this will continue to be a big deal for them long term. Topps has already made a fool of Panini’s digital team with some incredible draft based content, and I would expect that to be the case here as well.

The draft content should foreshadow some incredible stuff:

2016 Huddle Jared Goff Gold Draft Variant /10

Event Used Relics

If you think all those swatches used for rookies during the 2016 year are game used, you are sadly mistaken. In reality, these swatches are created by the thousands when players are asked to slip a XXXXXL jersey over their head for 3 seconds. Those jerseys are cut up and put into cards through the whole year. This is the event where all of that gets done, so keep an eye out for funny things that happen as a result.

Action Photos in Uniform

Despite the fact that Panini seems to be hopelessly obsessed with goofy ass posed shots taken indoors, the event was originally conceived as a way to get publicity and card photos for many different companies. This should continue to be the case, as long as Panini just does away with action shots all together. I wouldnt put it past them given their history of asinine photo choices on their cards. Either way, there will be a lot of organizations in attendance and its likely that we will get some nice looks of the top guys in uniform for the first time on the field.

Overall Perception of the Event

In the end, Im still bitter at the fact that Panini has taken over. This event is the first of many big reminders that a world of poorly designed cards in worthless box formats is on the way for the foreseeable future. Im excited that Topps Huddle will have a place at the table, as they could easily change the game in the long run. If they can outshine Panini on both the digital and physical front with some great content, nothing would make me happier.

Even with all the bitterness, im still excited to see what happens over the course of the week.