41 Players Set for NFL Rookie Premiere

Forty-one rookies from the 2016 NFL Draft class will gather in Los Angeles later this week for the 22nd annual NFLPA Rookie Premiere where Panini America will get its chance to grab their photos and autographs for new products.

The newly-released list of attendees provides some insight on which rookie autographs will be in the earliest sports card releases.  Once again, it’s a list dominated by offensive players.  In fact, 40 of the 41 players at the Premiere are either quarterbacks, running backs or wide receivers.  That means nearly half of the players picked in the first round of a defensive-minded draft won’t be at the Premiere.

The multi-day event is hosted by the NFLPA, via its marketing and licensing arm, NFL Players Inc. The rookies will don their official NFL team uniforms for the first time during a photo shoot at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with Panini, now the NFLPA’s exclusive trading card licensee.

“NFLPA Rookie Premiere is one of the most important events that we participate in annually, as it helps us set the stage for our entire football trading card products that we will release over the next 15 months,” Mark Warsop, Panini America CEO said. “Serving for the first time as the NFLPA’s exclusive trading card partner and presenting sponsor provides us with more opportunities than ever to execute a series of unique activations throughout the event, and create our best-ever product assortment for the new season.”

NFLPA Rookie Premiere is the first major business event following the NFL Draft, where players will gain insight and connections that will assist in the development of their professional off-field careers and personal brands.

“NFLPA Rookie Premiere presents an unparalleled opportunity for our partners to interact with the promising young marketing stars entering the league,” said Ahmad Nassar, president of NFL Players Inc. “Learning about the business and benefits of their union as the players plan for their new career is a tremendous advantage. Showcasing their personalities and passions allows us to connect the right players with the right brands to tell their stories, and only adds to what the NFLPA does day after day.”

Here’s a look at the players who’ll be at the Premiere:

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]aily.com.