Football Card Reviews (One of EACH product yearly)

So here we go - Score did a very good job this year with their release. Topps is the main competition and in the past I have leaned towards Score if I wanted a cheap break. I am not going to be breaking a jumbo version of Topps so I can make a fair comparison between the two.

Price Paid: $52.95
Sale Value (on ebay): $37.00 (week of release)

Design: There are so many variations and inserts and different types of hits it is hard to keep track of everything able to be pulled from this product. This seems to be the most serious set of Topps I have ever seen. The base set is very clean as usual with white borders, a team logo and stripe with the player name included at the bottom. The photography is excellent and the set should be easy to complete even with 440 cards. However, the rookies are still looking like male models in their shots which make the base rookie cards undesirable for me. The 1950 Bowman mini's do not do it for me either with the posed, poorly done art work. The ToppsTown inserts are nice looking metallic cards similar to 2002 pristine cards and provide rookie inserts I would rather have than the base. The Faces of the Franchise inserts are better than average providing two players from each team on a card with a little bit too much photoshopping done for me. Unfortunately, the worst cards are the most common base relics and gameday auto cards. If the Game Day cards had the team name at the top rather than a giant font stating GAMEDAY, they would be great. Also, wasting the bottom half of the card with white is pointless unless you have on card autographs...and these have oddly placed stickers. Finally, I am always a hater of rookie premier photo shoots and the red zone photos. Again, for the reason of male modeling photography. If I pull one it would go straight to ebay no matter who the player is. With all of that being said, the chase cards are sketch cards and Super Bowl Legend relics all of which look amazing including super bowl ring replicas, stamps, autographs, sticket stubs etc. So if you are lucky enough to hit one of those, they have the potential to be a centerpiece of any collection. 3.5/5

Checklist: The Super Bowl Legend cards alone make the checklist amazing for me. Topps certainly isn't just for kids anymore and seems to be more about chase cards. The checklist is loaded with potential that is unlikely, but not impossible to pull. I'd imagine every Jumbo case has 1-2 SB Legends card included. The potential for a huge hit is there even if you will most likely pull dollar bin jerseys and some cheap gameday auto cards. 5/5

Fun: Topps is always a fun product to break. You get 36 packs and 360 cards to sort through and a plethora of gem mint condition top rookies. Jumbo is probably even more fun as you have a better chance at a big pull. It's not perfect because there's no suspense, but it also has lasting value. 4.5/5

What I got:

Gameday Jersey Tony Gonzalez

Gold Parallel /2011 x4 (vets)

Black Parallel /55 Brandon Merriweather

10 minis

Dalton toppstown

Ponder toppstown

30 or so more inserts

Overall/Value: With one hit per box Topps had to make the set collectible and the base desirable. Based on the market it seems as if they have succeeded so far. There is enough going to here to keep collectors interested. I believe the box is about $10 overpriced and will hopefully come down after it's out for a while. The value at $52.95 will not last with this product. 3.5/5

My Break/Tilt: I had an average break and still didn't come out badly. I only pulled 5-6 cards I wanted to keep which is about average for this product. I'm not blown away, but it was fun and the price tag is about right for now. 4/5

Overall: 20.5/25 C+