A few years ago, Classics football was the first set to offer NFL rookies in their new digs. Since that time the product has been canned, and rightfully so, and then resurrected when Panini needed to scrape the bottom of the barrel to hit product guarantees. Classics was dead as a product, and I dont think that much has changed in the time it has been away
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Here are some of the hits up so far:
2016 Classics Laquon Treadwell Auto RC
2016 Classics Dan Marino Auto 9/10
2016 Classics Jameis Winston Auto /10
2016 Classics Rob Gronkowski No Name Variation
Instead of the NFL uniforms, we are stuck AGAIN with college sticker crap, only this time its on vintage stock instead. Im not sure why that makes a difference, other than a cheap gimmick, but Panini seems to think it will change people’s mind. They added in their version of Topps’ Heritage SSP ideas, but in a set that has maybe 1/240th the following.
The cards dont look bad from a base perspective, but at some point we need to ask ourselves why something like this is necessary on the calendar. Sure it adds a product with a retro feel to the mix, yet I dont see much other reason for it to exist. Sticker autographs of rookies in college uniforms have already happened way too many times this year, and over-saturation has hit hard.
Funny enough, if Panini added stickers for some of the 8x10s they got signed at the Rookie Premiere, I might be signing a different tune:
2016 Classics Ezekiel Elliott Signed Photo
2016 Classics Jared Goff Signed Photo
2016 Classics Joey Bosa 8×10 Signed Photo
If Panini is trying to create their shot at a football version of Heritage, they are so far off base, I dont have words. If they are trying to create a retro product in the same vein as other sets, even then I fail to see the appeal of this set, save the cheaper box price. Like I said, the cards dont look BAD, but I also dont think anything here is game-changing.
Cheaper box price also means fewer autographs, because Panini cant seem to deliver at the same rate we see the other companies deliver, including Leaf who gave us 5 on card autos for 80-85 bucks. Panini needs to really figure out their plan for the next few years, because if we are going to get 30 different versions of cheap crap like Classics all year, this license will be even more unsustainable than it already is. I guess we shouldnt be surprised that this is already showing up on the Father’s Day list, after all, I havent seen a ton of buzz. Then again, that is par for the course here.
Reminds me of 2010 Topps Magic which is my favorite set from the past few years. That set was all stickers too so I can’t hate on this one that much. My biggest knock is that $65/box is about $25 too high for this.
I am no fan of Panini in general, but Classics is not a bad looking set…sticker autos aside. And you can’t compare them to the Baseball Heritage set. (I have to assume you are as no one is or has really ever been interested in any of the various Heritage football releases from Topps…they have all been DOA) Heritage baseball is a monster with a massive devoted following and few peers in the card world.
I don’t like Panini’s exclusive either, but it wasn’t like Topps was putting out world altering sets either with the exception being Five Star. Triple Threads, Supreme were a poor man’s versions of Five Star. Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome were so close to looking the same at the end that it became blah.
Classics is something different from the Prizm and Spectra and Certified sets that you bang on for having too much shiny/colorful parallels and weird designs. It’s clean, has a retro feel with the different card stock.
As a player collector, (emmitt smith) I know I can’t collect everything so I go for cards that appeal visually to me so I’ll try and pick up a couple of the low #’d parallels from this set.
I know this blog is dedicated to mostly autos and patches and that is what most people collect and is how you define a set in your review of it and that is fine. But some of us focus on the non auto and non game used cards as well and Classics is visually appealing in that regards.