2017 Panini Prizm Football Cards, are they worth buying?

2017 Panini Prizm Football Trading Cards

Panini churns out a ton of products in football every year.  For some, they churn out too many products each year.  But that is another negative of the current license exclusivity market we find ourselves in.  Because Topps and Upper Deck are not allowed to print licensed products for the NFL, Panini is stuck with the task of bringing some 40+ products to the market each year.  When you pump out that many different card designs, there are going to be some home runs and there are going to be some flops.  We’ve discussed a little of both here but now it’s time to look at a set that has been somewhat of a mainstay for Panini over the last several years; Panini Prizm.

Prizm has been one of the products I target each year because I like it quite a bit.  The cards are a little thicker than normal cardstock, they are very shiny and they have some pretty cool serial numbered variation designs like ‘camo’ and ‘tie dye’.  There are usually two versions of the set that are released each year with ‘Draft Picks’ that feature the players in their collegiate uniforms, and then the normal Prizm release that hits shelves right in the thick of the NFL season.  The recent box I picked up was the latter set as it was released on October 25, 2017.  I picked up my box at Jacksonville Sports Cards this past weekend and am pretty excited to see the product this year.

Trading Card Set Sleeves. 2.5mil POLYETHYLENE.

88 Card Set Sleeve. 4 x 7-1/4. 88 Card Set Sleeve. Holds 88 sports & non-sports cards. NO flap.

2017 has been a strong year so far for NFL cards with Kareem Hunt, Leonard Fournette, Deshaun Watson, and Dalvin Cook all off to great starts to their career.  Unfortunately, Cook’s season ended early with an injury but he was burning up the stat sheet in the first half of the season.  There are other names from the rookie class that are getting some early season action as well; CJ Beathard, Evan Engram, DeShone Kizer, Mitchell Trubisky, and Alvin Kamara to name a few.  Dak and Zeke carried the 2016 rookie class but I think there are more rookies spread out this year providing collectors with many options.

What’s inside?

The hobby box consists of 12 packs with 12 cards in each.  There are an average of 3 Autographs and 9 Prizm Parallels in each box as well.  The case hit this year is a Rookie Patch Autograph that is numbered to 99 or less.  Some of the rarer finds consist of Gold parallels, Black Finite, and ‘1 of 1’s’.  Autographs come in new designs this year that include Green, Purple, and Red parallels.  The inserts include Illumination, NFL MVPs, Super Bowl MVPs, and (my personal favorite) ‘Stained Glass’.  While the set is not overwhelmed by inserts, the colors, and shine of Panini Prizm is hard to match.  Without further ado, let’s crack this box and see what we can find.

I did pull a DeShaun Watson but it was not an autograph, unfortunately.  This is the base card in the Prizm set.

This Teez Tabor is an Orange Parallel and is numbered to 275.  Tabor was a very gifted defensive back for the Florida Gators.  He’s only played in 2 games thus far but is projected to be a contributor in the future.

Another Orange Parallel, this LeVeon Bell is also numbered to 275.  Bell is one of the most talented running backs in the NFL today and accounts for a large percentage of the Steelers offense.

My 3^rd Orange Parallel was LeGarrette Blount numbered to 275.  Blount was the #1 back for the Philadelphia Eagles until the recent trade of Jay Ajayi.

This Blue Parallel of T.J. Watt is numbered to 199.  T.J. is the younger brother of J.J. Watt and is off to a terrific start in Pittsburgh.  He will have to work hard to catch his older brother but he looks good so far!

Another Blue Parallel numbered to 199 is this Zach Miller.  Miller suffered a gruesome leg injury on October 29 that will most likely end his career.  It was as tough to watch as the broken leg that Joe Theismann suffered many years ago.  Best wishes to Miller as he begins a long recovery process.

This Silver Parallel of Ryan Tannehill is numbered to 149.  Of course, Tannehill suffered a knee injury in the preseason that took him out for the full 2017 season.  He is expected to make a full recovery and be back on the field in 2018.

Here is another swirly, shiny, Silver Parallel for Ben Roethlisberger that is numbered to 149.  Big Ben has been a staple in Pittsburgh for many years but appears to be slowing down in 2017.  He is still performing better than half the league but he seems to be in the twilight of a storied career.

Here is a Green Swirl Parallel of Jordan Reed that is numbered to 99.  Reed is an ultra talented tight end but just can’t stay on the field for a full season.  He has found himself once again nursing an injury here in mid 2017.

A second Green Swirly Parallel was pulled of Isaiah McKenzie.  I-Mac was a great player for the Georgia Bulldogs and was one of the greatest kick returners to ever wear the Red and Black.  He is now in Denver and is already finding his way on to the playing field.  He is small at 5’7”, 173 pounds but I have seen his tenacity up close for the last 3 years.  I have high hopes for McKenzie.

I got lucky with a 10^th Prizm Parallel in this box and this one was a very low number.  This Gold Ameer Abdullah was numbered to 10!  Abdullah is the primary ball carrier for the Detroit Lions but they are not necessarily known for rushing the ball.  At least not since Barry Sanders.

Hall of Fame Insert – Gale Sayers

Illumination Insert – Aaron Rodgers – This is a great looking card!

Rookie Introduction Insert – Joe Mixon

Super Bowl MVP’s Insert – Drew Brees

The first autograph from the box was this Amara Darboh.  I have found his autograph in a ton of products so far in 2017.  He is getting some playing time in Seattle but is behind three very talented receivers at the moment.

TJ Logan is a rookie out of the University of North Carolina and is a good special teams player.  He has yet to make any noise in the running game.

The final autograph I pulled was a big one!  JuJu Smith-Schuster has started his career off very well in Pittsburgh and is getting better every week.  He is already a fan favorite for the Steelers and the sky is the limit for this 20 year old rookie.

Conclusion

Overall, I am pleased with my first box of 2017 Prizm.  The design hasn’t changed much over the years but it really hasn’t had to as the real attraction is the shine and the sturdy card stock.  Three autographs in the product make it a good value but star autos are really hard to pull from this set.  I have been opening the product for many years and the good ones are not easy to find.  They are fun to pull when you do hit one though.

What are your thoughts on 2017 Panini Prizm?