Panini America’s 2021 Prizm Football promises a larger set, plenty of colorful cards and even a nod to Manga, the Japanese comic book genre.
Prizm has been delayed multiple times and isn’t set to release now until June 3, some four months after the end of the 2021 season.
A hobby box will contain 12 cards, with 12 cards to a pack. Panini is promising two autographs and five inserts per hobby box. Collectors can expect an average of four Silver Prizms per box and an additional 10 serial numbered Prizms.
2021 Prizm Football Base Set
This year’s base set jumps to 440 cards, which is 40 more than the 2020 set. Veteran players and legends will be part of 330 cards, while there will be an additional 110 rookie cards. There will be an average of two rookie cards per pack.
Base Prizm Snakeskin or Rookies Prizm Snakeskin cards are case hits.
In addition to the Silver Prizms and Snakeskins, the 2021 Prizm set will offer another big roster of base parallels for veterans and rookies. They include Orange (numbered to 249), Purple Ice (225), Blue Wave (199), Hyper (175), Red Wave (149), Purple (125), Blue Ice (99), Green Scope (75), Orange Wave (60), Purple Power (49), Navy Camo (25), Forest Camo (15), Gold (10), Gold Vinyl (5) and Black Finite (1/1).
Orange Wave, Navy Camo, and Forest Camo parallels are making their debut in the Prizm lineup.
Autographs
This year’s autographed cards will be divided among three subsets. Rookie Autographs remain a staple among collectors who enjoy first-year players, with Prizm parallels in Silver, Red Wave (numbered to 149), Green Scope (75), Purple Power (49), Camo (25), Gold (10), Gold Vinyl (5) and Black Finite (1/1).
Rookie Patch Autographs, which are hobby box exclusives, include a signature and a patch. Prizm parallels can be found in Silver (numbered to 99), Purple Power (49), Gold (10) and Black Finite (1/1).
Franchise Legends Autographs are numbered to 149 or less for base cards and feature all-time great players and coaches. Prizm parallels will be available in Blue Ice (99 or less), Green Score (75 or less), Purple Power (49 or less), Navy Camo (25 or less), Gold (10 or less) and Black Finite (1/1).
Inserts
Inserts are going to be tough to find, even though there are five to a hobby box. There are plenty of short-printed inserts. Illumination is one that features a wildly colorful design and a mixture of current stars and rookies on its 35-card checklist.
New this year are Prizm Break, New Recruits and Manga inserts. The Manga is perhaps the most intriguing insert, as they are designed in the graphic novel, cartoon style of traditional Japanese Manga. Veterans and rookies will be included in this subset.
As usual, Color Blast inserts will be extremely difficult to find, as the super short-printed card will fall once in every 10 boxes on average.
Prizm has become one of Panini’s most popular brands since its launch in 2012. There are currently over 750,000 Prizm Football listings on eBay from the last several years.
Boxes of 2021 Prizm Football are currently running over $1,400 per Hobby edition.
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