UD's Football Heroes Now Its Own Product

Will he return or won’t he? That is the question every Green Bay Packers fan is asking these days when it comes to legendary signal-caller Brett Favre’s status with the team. While No. 4’s standing with the Packer organization remains up in the air, one thing’s for certain: Favre is prominently featured in Upper Deck's 2008 Football Heroes set with hard-signed autograph cards numbered to 25 or less.

“Our ‘Football Heroes’ collection has always been one of our most cherished insert sets so we’re very excited about the fact that we’ve turned it into a full-blown set for the first-time ever,” said Brandon Miller, Upper Deck’s Football brand manager. “Brett Favre’s inclusion is huge, but we’ve also got plenty of Hall-of-Famers, veterans and rookies to make it one of this year’s most sought-after sets.”

Two hand-signed autograph cards per box are included with the product. 1-of-1 cut signature cards of some of football’s greatest players ever also highlight the launch and include such notables as Walter Payton, Johnny Unitas, Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, Red Grange, Otto Graham, Ray Nitschke and Don Hutson. The autograph lineup also includes signed jersey cards (numbered to 15) and patch cards (numbered to five), as well as a plethora of varying amounts of each level.

The “Rookie Heroes” autographs and parallels (numbered to 350 or less) will include rookies such as Darren McFadden, Matt Ryan, Brian Brohm and Jonathan Stewart. The “Football Heroes” collection and parallels (numbered to 25 or less) will include LaDainian Tomlinson, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Joseph Addai and Adrian Peterson. And the “Legendary Heroes” array and parallels (numbered to 40 or less) feature legends and Hall-of-Famers including Gale Sayers, Franco Harris, John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Brown and Bary Sanders.

UD will include cut signature cards featuring heroes from all walks of life, not just football. Some of those heroes include boxers Floyd Patterson, Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, as well as entertainers Bob Hope, Art Carney, Richard Pryor and John Candy. Upper Deck has even included cut signature cards of former U.S. President (and University of Michigan gridiron favorite) Gerald Ford as well as golf legends like Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead. Other “Sports Heroes” featured include track standouts Michael Johnson and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, as well as Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner. Also in the mix are “Guitar Heroes” including Tony Iommi, Steve Vai, Tom Morello and Justin Hayward. There truly is something for everyone in this release.

Upper Deck’s 2008 Football Heroes carries a suggested retail price of $4.99 per eight-card pack with 24 packs per box.