This week, Panini makes up a majority of the trading card release calendar with 2021 Contenders Optic Football, 2022 Select Baseball, and the debut of 2021-22 PhotoGenic Basketball. Read up on all of these releases in this week’s issue of The Rip.
2021 Panini Contenders Optic Football
2021 Panini Contenders Optic Football takes the ticket design cards released earlier this year and adds a chromium finish. The base set checklist holds an array of limited print run color variation parallels and includes rookie cards for players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft such as Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, plus more. The set carries a mix of sticker and higher-end, on-card autographs in subsets such as 2001 Contenders Throwback Rookie Autographs.
The 2021 Panini Contenders Optic Football Hobby Box is packed with six cards and includes two autographs, one insert, and one parallel.
You can begin collecting 2021 Panini Contenders Optic Football cards when the hobby box releases via the Panini Direct Store on June 22nd.
2022 Panini Select Baseball
2022 Panini Select Baseball sees the return of the MLBPA set for the third straight year. Panini Select Baseball cards will feature big league players and prospects, but no logos or trademarks of the MLB. The 300-card main set is divided into three subsets that increase in rarity. Although print runs are unknown at this time, those three subsets are the Main Base set, the Premier set, and the Diamond Level subset. Wander Franco is sure to be one of the most sought-after rookies in the base set, and will also have autographs and memorabilia cards available to chase down in subsets like Rookie Jersey Autographs.
The 2022 Panini Select Hobby Box is stocked with five cards per pack, and 12 packs per box. The box promises four hits, on average, in the form of two autographs and two relic cards. You can also expect to find five inserts and three limited print run color variation Prizm parallels.
The 2022 Panini Select Baseball Hobby Boxes will release on June 23rd through the Panini Direct Store.
2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic Basketball
2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic Basketball is a debut set that gives basketball collectors a brand new checklist of unique photography to collect. The base set holds 140 cards, 40 of which are rookies who were selected in the 2021 NBA Draft, such as Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, plus more. Sticker autographs make up a majority of the hits that can be found in 2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic Basketball.
The 2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic Basketball Hobby Box is loaded with five cards per pack, and ten packs per box, and includes one autograph card per box.
The 2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic Basketball Hobby Box was released as an online exclusive on June 20th on the Panini Direct Store via their Dutch Auction Format. The Box started at $500 and dropped every few minutes until it sold out.