Over the last few weeks, we have seen some of the awesome cards that have come out of SP Authentic. One of the cards that everyone wanted to see, wasnt available to be done so, as all of Robert Griffin IIIs autographs were redemptions. I found out something I didnt find shocking at all – people HATE redemptions. Upper Deck did a great job of filling the redemptions quickly, as they are starting to pop up on eBay.

2012 SP Authentic Robert Griffin III RC Auto Patch Logo 1/1

2012 SP Authentic Robert Griffin III 3 Color Patch Auto

2012 SP Authentic Robert Griffin III SP Rookie Threads Auto /75

2012 SP Authentic Robert Griffin III Base RC Auto 10/15

Here is the thing that should not shock you. These cards are selling for well above where the redemptions are selling. Its a combination of buying a patch card that could come back one color, and collectors not having inside knowledge of when the cards will be done.

The cards look great, as expected, and for the most part, the “patches” have been pretty nice. I put patches in quotes because Upper Deck has been forced into buying the amount of jerseys they need without actual sewn on patches. Doug Martin collectors got lucky this year, but everyone else – not so much. Upper Deck has said that authentic jerseys from most colleges are not available in the quantity they need, so they have to get creative. I have always wondered why they dont get generic patch jerseys with relatively the same team colors, and use them instead, but UD didnt think that was such a good idea.

As a result, as Sergio from Busting Packs pointed out, RGIII patches arent as accurate, mainly because he never wore that color yellow in any game. Again, there is not much else to say, as we all know what happens when these jerseys are “worn” for any of the three companies. I guess we really shouldnt care either way, unless we are hoping to pretend for make believe that these jerseys could be game used. I mean, Topps and Panini used swatches from the old Seahawks jersey all year – one which Russell wilson will never wear.

I credit Upper Deck for getting these cards done so quickly, and SP Authentic is definitely on par (design wise) with where it was back when UD had the NFL license. Here is to hoping that eventually we can see what these cards will look like with game photography from an NFL sideline instead of an NCAA one.