搶先看:Panini 2013 Contenders Football

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Football’s “Home of the Autographed Rookie Card” turns 21 this year, and Panini America has found more than a few new ways to celebrate with 2013 Contenders Football. A new edition of one of the most popular and successful releases in sports-card history is set to arrive in stores in late December, boasting five autographs and 14 inserts in every 24-pack hobby box.

The 40 first-year stars who attended the 2013 NFLPA Rookie Premiere will be featured with on-card autographs in Contenders’ landmark Rookie Ticket RC subset. There are also a healthy variety of collectible parallel versions, including Playoff Tickets (numbered to 99), Cracked Ice Tickets (numbered to 21), and Championship and Printing Plate Tickets numbered to only one.

Contenders’ popular Rookie Ink on-card-signed insert has received a dramatic face lift for 2013, and will be joined for the first time by an NFL Ink counterpart that features the game’s top veterans on autograph cards numbered to 25 or less.

2013 Contenders Football also boasts the return of several brand-staple inserts, including Rookie of the Year Contenders (20 cards, with autographs numbered to 25), Round Numbers (with autographs numbered to 25 or less), MVP Contenders (10 cards, with autographs numbered to 25 or less) and the 14kt-gold Golden Ticket 1/1s.

Many of this year’s top rookie signers already have returned their Contenders autographs, and you can catch a glimpse of what’s in store here, here and here. We also preview the rest of this year’s release below. Enjoy, and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for additional coverage of 2013 Contenders Football in the coming weeks.

          

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A Contenders Confidential: Panini America Unveils 2013 Contenders Football RCs



For many of the most dedicated football card collectors on the planet, this glorious Week 3 Sunday of the 2013 NFL season is a day you’ve been eagerly anticipating for months. It’s a day that, in hindsight, might be remembered as something of Christmas in September. It’s the day, after all, that we unveil the new Rookie Card designs for Panini America’s 2013 Contenders Football.

One of the most important and revered football brands in NFL trading card history turns 21 this season, carrying with it another splendid rendition of the landmark Rookie Ticket design and a few new additions to the autograph roster that will surprise even the most tenured Contenders collectors. Get all of the details after the jump.


One of the most pressing questions regarding any new Contenders Rookie Ticket design is a simple one: Vertical or horizontal? In the decorated 15-year history of Contenders’ autographed Rookie Tickets, the cards have sported a vertically oriented design 11 times, with just 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2011 featuring a horizontal design.

(Speaking of rookie tickets, the one to have later today is the one that lets you watch EJ Manuel and the Buffalo Bills battle Geno Smith and the New York Jets. That’s this week’s #PaniniWildCard game so stay tuned to the Panini America Twitter feed beginning today at noon CST for more information.)

For 2013, Panini America keeps with the brand’s vertical-format roots on cards that boast crisp action photography, a bold team-color scheme, subtle foil touches and plenty of short-printed variations (including Cracked Ice, Holofoil and photo variation versions). 2013 Contenders Football also includes a radically reimagined Rookie Ink insert design that instantly ranks among the most unique of the season.

More breaking news for 2013 Contenders Football: Panini America has added two new rookie-dedicated autograph inserts in NFLPA Rookie Premiere Autographs and a Contenders version of Pen Pals.

Without further ado, then, we present the world-premiere unveiling of the 2013 Contenders Football Rookie Ticket designs. Most of what you’re about to see is unsigned at this point, but at the end of the gallery you’ll also find autographed versions of some of the earliest arrivals, including Eddie Lacy and Marquise Goodwin.

Enjoy the gallery and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for additional coverage of 2013 Contenders Football.

                                                                                                    

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How Buffalo Bills Rookie Marquise Goodwin Turned Signing Contenders into Therapy



Buffalo Bills rookie receiver Marquise Goodwin found out firsthand recently something that passionate collectors have known for more than 20 years: Contenders Football can cure what ails you. As is his custom, Goodwin — the former University of Texas speedster and the fastest player clocked at the 2013 NFL Combine — wasted no time in making an impact on the field with a ridiculously swift 107-yard kick-return touchdown in Buffalo’s first preseason game.

The spectacular special-teams play offered an electricity-quick glimpse of Goodwin’s otherworldly potential, raising hopes and dropping jaws all over Western New York. But just like that, during Buffalo’s season-opening loss to the New England Patriots, the man dubbed “Flash Goodwin” fractured his right hand.


Goodwin’s right hand, of course, happens to be his signing hand — which spelled potential problems for that shipment of 2013 Contenders Football cards addressed to Goodwin that arrived at Buffalo Bills headquarters a few weeks back. But a funny thing happened on the way to getting his hands on those cards: It was suggested by a member of the Buffalo Bills’ training staff helping Goodwin open his Panini America package that signing the Contenders cards inside it might be just what the doctor ordered for Goodwin’s healing hand.

“He saw the box because I had taken it to rehab and he opened it for me,” Goodwin said in a phone interview with The Knight’s Lance recently. “He said, ‘You know, signing those might be good therapy for the hand and help strengthen it back up. He was right. It’s definitely been good for me.

“And the cards are nice. For real. I wish I had some for myself to keep.”

Over the course of a few days, the former Olympic sprinter autographed a few hundred cards at a time until he was done. Although it was Goodwin’s first signing session since breaking the hand, it didn’t take long to knock the rust off. In true Goodwin form, he returned his Contenders autographs to Panini America HQ faster than any other player.

“It was a little awkward in the beginning because my hand was a little stiff,” he said. “But after that it didn’t really hinder me from being able to sign the autographs. It’s still the exact same signature. It might even be better.”

Also better are Goodwin’s chances to return to action. He’s listed as probable on this week’s injury report and is expected to play later today against the Cincinnati Bengals. While signing autographs for Panini America provided unintentional rehab and a good way to pass the time, Goodwin’s anxious to get back on the field where he can make sure those autographs carry a premium.

Goodwin, who himself collects fellow Longhorn Eric Metcalf and receiving legend Jerry Rice, knows more big plays like the one he provided in that first preseason game will go a long way toward cementing his own collectibility.

“I’ve got to get a few more returns so fans will be a little more eager to collect my cards,” Goodwin said.

        

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A Glimpse Inside 2013 Contenders Football: New Gallery Spies Latest Key Arrivals



While gridiron collectors across North America patiently await the arrival of Panini America’s 2013 Totally Certified Football and 2013 Select Football in the next three weeks, company officials are steadfastly keeping at least one eye focused on pre-release preparations for the juggernaut that follows those two: 2013 Contenders Football.

In the last few days, several key on-card additions have arrived back at Panini America HQ for packout, including pivotal Rookie Cards and variations from EJ Manuel, Montee Ball, Terrance Williams, Cordarrelle Patterson, Aaron Dobson, Manti Te’o and Robert Woods. What’s more, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman autographed and returned a limited number of his 2012 Contenders Football RCs for inclusion in this year’s release.

As you’ll see in the gallery that follows, 2013 Contenders Football is packed with an impressive variety of variations and new autographed inserts that promise to keep one of collecting’s most storied brands atop collector wantlists once again.

Enjoy the previews and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for additional coverage of 2013 Contenders Football.

                                                                                  

fantasy_jrbo

台灣有NFL的Contenders可以玩?!感動T_T
沒想到竟然還有出Richard Sherman的回歸RC簽!!!

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Short Story: Panini America Sheds Light on 2013 Contenders Football Insert SPs



It’s a phenomenon that takes place every year at about this time. Almost immediately following the release of a new year of Contenders Football, the annual frenzy commences as collectors across North America begin scrambling and scouring to determine the relative scarcity of the set’s ample selection of autograph SPs and variations.

It’s a mesmerizing chain of events to be sure, and one that often requires a little guidance. A few weeks ago we presented the preliminary list of SPs and SSPs among the 2013 Contenders Football’s Rookie Tickets and Rookie Ticket variations. Today, we’re back with a follow-up list that details the limited nature of three key autographed inserts from 2013 Contenders Football: Rookie Ink, Rookie Premiere and Pen Pals.

To help provide a a little insight into the SP/SSP craze surrounding 2013 Contenders Football, below is a breakdown of the three aforementioned sets that are either SPs (cards with quantities of 200 or less) and SSPs (cards with quantities of 50 or less).

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Panini America Reveals Specific Quantities of 2013 Contenders Football Base SPs



Over the last few months, we’ve offered glimpses into the relative scarcity of the base and insert SPs and SSPs found in Panini America’s 2013 Contenders Football release. But collectors’ collective desire to know the exact quantities of those cards has led to an influx of seemingly nonstop feedback via email, Twitter and The Knight’s Lance.

Today, we hope to answer some of those questions by releasing the exact quantities of the base Rookie Card SPs and SSPs randomly inserted in a 2013 Contenders Football release that ranks as one of the most successful NFL products of the 2013 season. Today, we remove the SP (200 or less) and SSP (50 or less) tags and replace them with exact production numbers. Those numbers are below.

If a player’s base Rookie Card is not featured on the list below, it is not an SP or an SSP.