Today is a fun day, as we are getting the pictures from the first 2014 Football Set of the year. Although we have seen a small amount from 2014 Bowman, Leaf is preparing for a release coming up in late february. I think that is pretty ambitious, but overall it looks like they are finally starting to find their place among collectors thanks to strong designs and cards in 2011 through 2013. They have carved out a niche over the last few years, and this looks like it will end up being a great year for Metal Football.
2012 Leaf Metal Robert Griffin III Auto Refractor
2012 Leaf Metal Russell Wilson Auto RC
2011 Leaf Metal Cam Newton Auto Inscription BGS 10
The biggest shock I am getting from this preview is that Brian Gray looks to be pretty confident that Johnny Manziel will be signing for his company, even after the craziness from early this year. In case you arent familiar, Leaf was one of the first companies in history to release a card of a player while in college, pictured in their college uniform. Because it was cut autographs with artistic representation of Manziel
, it didnt break the rules fundamentally. It lead to some attention that Johnny Football didnt want, and yet, here he is signing all over again. I love every minute of it.
Manziel will likely be the top valued player in the draft, and he NEEDS to be in this product.
As for the design, this looks to be one of the strongest we have seen from the brand. I really like the progression of the product, as it finds ways to be dynamic in ways we havent seen from other preseason products. Although 2013 Bowman managed in a very similar way, and looked very good in the process
, this year’s Metal set looks great too.
I am a huge fan of the Masterworks style sketch cards that look to be making their metal debut this year. We saw a great representation of how cool these cards can be in the recent release, and I am happy they are being added to this product too.
Its quite obvious that the cards continue to drop in value as the year progresses, but during the draft and pre-season, these cards are hot. I will definitely be buying a few boxes, as it is hard to ignore cheap thrills that still deliver on card autos and cool chrome designs.
