When I saw that Panini was bringing this on for 2015, I was VERY excited. The baseball product released earlier in the year was a great looking set, with a focus on cards that look like sports art. I thought this was going to be an opportunity for us to get on card autographs on licensed cards that look similar to the baseball version. When I opened the sell sheet, all I could think was how much of a fucking let down the preview turned out to be.

Gridiron Kings has been a force for many years, which is why I am so upset. It was actually responsible for some of the first higher end autographs in Football, and though it has been stickers for the last few times, there is no excuses why it continues to be:

1999 Donruss Gridiron Kings Walter Payton Auto

2000 Donruss Gridiron Kings Sammy Baugh Auto

2009 Threads Gridiron Kings LeSean McCoy Auto

2011 Threads Gridiron Kings Santonio Holmes Auto Patch

Here is what Baseball looked like earlier this year:

2015 Diamond Kings Kris Bryant Auto Dual Relic

2015 Diamond Kings Jose Abreu Auto Patch /5

2015 Diamond Kings Miguel Cabrera Dual Relic Auto /10

Let me start off by saying we have not had a set from Panini previewed YET that has on card rookie autos. Its a sticker parade, and I am disgusted by how many sets they think they can trot out in front of collectors that end up being trash filled with cards they SHOULD have gotten signed at the rookie premiere. The funniest thing is that this isnt even the worst part of the product, and that should scare the shit out of people.

With how awesome the "Kings" brand has been over the multiple decades, this set is a design travesty. Although it features backgrounds that look artsy, the composition of the cards takes a big shit on any design prowess shown at all. Big white boxes for the stickers are EVERYWHERE, including my favorite “big white box against a light background” as we see with the Favre autograph. The Luck/Dorsett dual auto may be the ugliest card previewed this year, which is saying something considering what they just previewed with 2015 Certified.

Even the main box hit, showcased in the Jameis Winston patch auto is so odd and unbalanced, that it doesnt even look like its worth talking about. This is one of the first times Panini has taken an action shot, which I have been looking for, and actually cropped it so much it looks like their stupid ass posed shots like we see AGAIN with the Mariota. Panini’s obsession with these types of cards is unhealthy, and leads to some UGLY fucking cards. Ugly cards lead to many things, but one of those things is this set eventually selling below dealer cost.

I hope they pull their heads out of their asses, or they are going to walk into 2016’s exclusive with a collector base that resents them for kicking out competition that VASTLY out performs them in every way, shape, and form.