Panini Brings Back Donruss Football

Hello old friend, it’s really good to see you once again.

Eric Clapton sang that phrase in 1976. It’s still relevant now, as Panini America will reintroduce an old friend to football collectors — 2015 Donruss Football. On September 2,  the first stand-alone Donruss football product since 2002 will make its return.

Familiar names like Rated Rookies, Gridiron Kings, Gridiron Legends, Classics and Dominators will be sprinkled inside a hobby box, which will contain 24 packs and eight cards per pack. There will be a 300-card base set.

Panini is promising that each hobby box of Donruss Football will contain three autograph or memorabilia cards, four parallels, four Rated Rookies, two Gridiron Kings, one Classics insert, nine Elite inserts and nine Elite Rookies. There also will be one Dominator card, two Passing the Torch inserts and two Elite Series cards.

Autographs will include Throwback Rookies Signatures, which will be numbered to 25 or less and will carry the look of the 1985 Donruss baseball set. Passing the Torch Autographs return with dual signatures; some of the cards will be new relic versions.

New Breed Rookie Jersey Autographs will focus on some of the top 2015 picks from the NFL draft, including Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Other autograph series will include Signature Series, Elite Series, Signature Series and The Rookies.

Collectors who prefer retail will be able to find Donruss Football. The retail box will have 24 packs and eight cards per pack; the difference will be in the hot cards, as Panini is promising two autograph or memorabilia cards.

Many collectors now in their 30s and even 40s collected Donruss cards during its heyday in the 1980s and ’90s. So the Donruss Football set should invoke a twinge of nostalgia for them.

You can pre-order boxes on eBay here.

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About Bob D'Angelo

Bob has been a sportswriter and copy editor for more than 35 years and a blogger for a decade. He is celebrating his 50th year of card collecting, and still counts his 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle as his favorite. You can reach him at [email protected].