If you go back 10 to 15 years ago, Absolute was a relevant product. You could even argue that in 2011 and 2012, when the product was hard signed that it was somewhat relevant. These days, when barely any single relic cards have any value, and sticker auto relics are EVERYWHERE, this product is as forgettable as it gets. In fact, the same could be said about many/all of the Panini products released in 2016, save Origins. Well, we all know how Origins came to be, so maybe that isnt a good example of a victory. Hope Topps gets a nice thank you basket for that rip job.

Here are some of the cards up so far:

2016 Absolute Ezekiel Elliot RPA 5 piece Relic Auto 1/1

2016 Absolute Dak Prescott Rookie Premiere Materials Auto

2016 Absolute Brett Favre Marks of Fame Auto 5/5

2016 Absolute Jerry Rice HOF Relic Auto

2016 Absolute Cam Newton Glass Redemption

I mean, the design isnt that bad this year all things considered, as the rookie premiere materials actually are as good as they have been in recent memory. The problem is that they dont really add anything to a product that is desperate for something to happen. Just because a product has been around so long, doesnt give it a pass to be ordinary. It surely doesnt give it a pass to be stale year after year.

The funniest thing is that Panini is already adding redemptions for sticker autographs of their main rookies and has been doing so for a few products now. Considering they just had a CAPTIVE audience at the rookie premiere, where these things should have gotten done, is beyond laughable. Maybe breaking out the crayons for sketch cards and doing Instagram human bobbleheads isnt the best plan, boys. Even if the players and NFLPA is complaining, you overpay so much for this event and license, its time to get busy and figure it out. Redemptions in September are not acceptable for stickers.

They also have redemptions for Glass cards, which look interesting to say the least. Absolute used to offer oversized glass cards a number of years ago, and they actually ended up being relatively cool display pieces for the time. If they can get these glass pieces shipped and set, they could be a focal point of the product again. If they turn out lame and unimaginitive, then it will just be Panini’s par for the course as usual.

Bottom line, here is the issue. Panini is responsible for too many products when they ALREADY did such a poor job with product differentiation. Outside of Treasures, Contenders, Flawless and Immaculate, I dont see much worth in what they do. Prizm continues to be sticker, Impeccable is a wild card (and potentially more expensive than its worth), and the rest just blur together. Just a sad state of affairs. They really need to put those heads together and find a way to innovate that doesnt involve consistent theft from the competition.