In the next few weeks, we should be getting our first taste of licensed NFL products with the 2009 RCs. Before you go nuts, keep a few things in mind when you are buying. Also, do not, under any circumstances, forget that post RC premiere NFL uni cards are less than 3 months away.

The first thing you need to remember is that when you buy, remember that the value of these cards will only hold as long as they did last year. That means when you buy UD draft boxes, understand that the stuff in the boxes should be sold off as quickly as possible. Same with Prestige. I can tell you right now that after the first box of Classics hit the shelf, I didn’t even let another thought into my head about these products. The cards themselves will hold more value than any unlicensed cards, but they surely will not live up to the main release products. I would be especially careful with the new Bowman offering, as there will most likely be 2-4 other Bowman products for collectors to get later in the year. If you buy Stafford and Moreno at 80-100, expect a 20-40% decrease in the price after the season starts.

The second thing you need to remember, is that some products are a much better value buy than others. That means that its better to buy Donini Elite rather than Donini prestige. Plus, with content and price about where it was last year, you can expect to pay a lot up front for both. Its better to choose the products you know will hold through the year. Here is my pre-premiere ladder:

1. Donini Elite
2. UD Draft
3. Donini Prestige
4. UD Icons
5. UD Heroes
6. Bowman DP
100. any unlicensed products

The elite, although college jersey pictures, seems to hold better than most, mainly because of the baseball equivalents being popular, and also the brand being around for a long time. The cards usually don’t look that bad, and they can be numbered quite low. The one caviat to all of this is all UD products will be on card, so you may just want to go for those. However, many have been pushed back, so they may coicide with RC premiere cards.

Lastly, don’t go prospecting with these sets unless you are going to sell RIGHT AWAY. Believe it or not, people do end up making quite a bit of money buying cases and flipping the content on these, but that doesn’t mean it will work out that way for you. I would say pick your guy(s) and get a few things. Hopefully you will choose wisely enough that the player will be great and you wont lose much, or the player is cheap to begin with and it wouldn’t matter if he sucked it up.