Panini America’s Rookies & Stars set is back, with its colorful design and a background that simply jumps out at you.
The nice thing about buying a blaster box is that Panini promises a memorabilia card, and the blaster box I opened was no exception. I received a Year One relic card of Buffalo Bills rookie Zack Moss, one of 42 possibilities in this subset.
The 2020 version of Rookies & Stars has a base set of 100 veterans and 100 rookies. For the blaster product, there are seven packs, with 10 cards to a pack. Each pack contains one rookie card, and collectors can expect to find at least 10 inserts and two red parallels. There is also an Optichrome parallel.
For those collectors who buy the more expensive Longevity retail product, there will be more parallels.
In the blaster box I opened, I pulled 48 base cards and seven rookies, along with a red base parallel and a red parallel base card of Chandler Jones and a rookie card of Jerry Jeudy. The two Tampa Bay Buccaneers I pulled were of Tom Brady and Mike Evans.
The nice thing about buying a blaster box is that Panini promises a memorabilia card, and the blaster box I opened was no exception. I received a Year One relic card of Buffalo Bills rookie Zack Moss, one of 42 possibilities in this subset.
The 2020 version of Rookies & Stars has a base set of 100 veterans and 100 rookies. For the blaster product, there are seven packs, with 10 cards to a pack. Each pack contains one rookie card, and collectors can expect to find at least 10 inserts and two red parallels. There is also an Optichrome parallel.
For those collectors who buy the more expensive Longevity retail product, there will be more parallels.
In the blaster box I opened, I pulled 48 base cards and seven rookies, along with a red base parallel and a red parallel base card of Chandler Jones and a rookie card of Jerry Jeudy. The two Tampa Bay Buccaneers I pulled were of Tom Brady and Mike Evans.
The base design features and action shot of the player, with a star background and spoke-like swatches of color. The effect really assaults your senses, especially since the spokes take on the primary colors of the player’s team.
“Rookies & Stars” is stamped in gold foil beneath the photo, with the player’s name and team on the next line — also stamped in gold foil.
The star design also prevails on the back of the card, using the same photo of the player but cutting it off at the waist. The player’s name is in capital letters beneath the photo, and a seven-line biography presents some career details along with the occasional corny description. Aaron Rodgers’ biography notes describes the Packers’ quarterback this way: “A glacier in shoulder pads, only a lot more mobile, Rodgers stays cool no matter what. He can ice a defense by heating up through the air …” Enough, already.
Or this bit on Dalvin Cook: “One can have too many cooks in this kitchen.” Or Ezekiel Elliott: “Keep him well fed and productive, and the Cowboys won’t go hungry in the wins column.”
OK. Waving the white flag.
“Rookies & Stars” is stamped in gold foil beneath the photo, with the player’s name and team on the next line — also stamped in gold foil.
The star design also prevails on the back of the card, using the same photo of the player but cutting it off at the waist. The player’s name is in capital letters beneath the photo, and a seven-line biography presents some career details along with the occasional corny description. Aaron Rodgers’ biography notes describes the Packers’ quarterback this way: “A glacier in shoulder pads, only a lot more mobile, Rodgers stays cool no matter what. He can ice a defense by heating up through the air …” Enough, already.
Or this bit on Dalvin Cook: “One can have too many cooks in this kitchen.” Or Ezekiel Elliott: “Keep him well fed and productive, and the Cowboys won’t go hungry in the wins column.”
OK. Waving the white flag.
The card back also has the team logo in the upper right-hand corner, with NFL and NFLPA logos in the upper left-hand corner.
The blaster I opened had 10 inserts and an Optichrome card. There were two Ticket Masters, featuring Dak Prescott and DeAndre Hopkins. As you might expect, the card design replicated an elaborate football game ticket complete with a bar code. There are 20 cards in this insert set.
Touchdown Club inserts are a 10-card subset featuring the game’s top scoring threats. The card I pulled was of Titans running back Derrick Henry.
Rookie Rush is a 20-card insert set, and I pulled two cards: the Colts’ Jacob Eason and Cee Dee Lamb of the Cowboys. The players’ names are stamped in red foil, and the “Rookie Rush” logo at the top sports a lime-green color scheme.
The blaster I opened had 10 inserts and an Optichrome card. There were two Ticket Masters, featuring Dak Prescott and DeAndre Hopkins. As you might expect, the card design replicated an elaborate football game ticket complete with a bar code. There are 20 cards in this insert set.
Touchdown Club inserts are a 10-card subset featuring the game’s top scoring threats. The card I pulled was of Titans running back Derrick Henry.
Rookie Rush is a 20-card insert set, and I pulled two cards: the Colts’ Jacob Eason and Cee Dee Lamb of the Cowboys. The players’ names are stamped in red foil, and the “Rookie Rush” logo at the top sports a lime-green color scheme.
Another 20-card insert set is Standing Ovation, and I pulled Super Bowl LIV MVP Patrick Mahomes II and Packers running back Aaron Jones. The cards make good use of player jubilation shots, with a background that hints at fans standing up to cheer. It’s a nice idea because the photos are very expressive.
Action Packed insert cards sport a horizontal design on the front, with the familiar “Action Packed” logo. Each card has an action shot, with an insert photograph from the main shot that is cropped to look like an oversized head shot. The photo on the back mirrors the main shot on the front.
The Crusade insert is an attractive card, with a shiny finish and silver-etched outlines. The card I pulled was Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Overall, not a bad-looking set. It’s kind of loud and brassy, and the puns make even a punster like me cringe at times. But there is a good selection of players and the base set should be easy to collect. Rookies will make it more difficult, but not impossible.
Action Packed insert cards sport a horizontal design on the front, with the familiar “Action Packed” logo. Each card has an action shot, with an insert photograph from the main shot that is cropped to look like an oversized head shot. The photo on the back mirrors the main shot on the front.
The Crusade insert is an attractive card, with a shiny finish and silver-etched outlines. The card I pulled was Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Overall, not a bad-looking set. It’s kind of loud and brassy, and the puns make even a punster like me cringe at times. But there is a good selection of players and the base set should be easy to collect. Rookies will make it more difficult, but not impossible.
RSS Feed
