Ill give it to Panini – they definitely have cornered the market on Jumbo patch cards. Not only jumbo patch cards, but ones with pretty unique pieces of memorabilia in them. So much so that collectors are latching on and with a recent preview from Exquisite BKB, UD is too.

Check them out in all their glory – here are the BKB ones:

2014 Immaculate LeBron James Sneak Peak 1/1

2014 Immaculate Shaquille Oneal Logo Sneak Peak 1/1

2014 Immaculate Blake Griffin Logo Sneak Peak 1/1

Here are the BB ones:

2014 Immaculate Ken Griffey Jr Glove Logo 1/1

2014 Immaculate Cal Ripken Jr Hat Logo

2014 Immaculate Tony Gwynn Glove Logo Patch

I think these cards are a pretty interesting chase, as Basketball has always been about the shoes. Always. Air Jordans continue to be some of the most collectible commodities of the basketball world. Adding in a shoe element to basketball cards is a great idea.

Additional chases in place because of the rarity of the cards is similarly important, mainly because of how unavailable some of these cards are in both BB and BKB. Collectors in basketball thrive on this element, and will go nuts trying to get the cards from their favorite players. Funny enough, with some of the Baseball versions, the whole piece of game used memorabilia can be worth LESS than the piece of it in a card. For top players, batting gloves and cleats are actually pretty easy to come by because of how many are used over the course of the season. Hasnt stopped these cards from being VERY hot commodities.

I really dont even like the way they look, as I have never been a fan of a card that uses a swatch (jumbo or otherwise) in place of design. If you are trying to showcase a large piece of memorabilia, use an oversized format or find a way to make the card look good. So far, Panini hasnt found that balance even in the slightest.

Scary as that may be to people like me, so many collectors will judge value on patch content rather than actual design. Its how Panini lovers and apologists attain that label. They just want big patches and they dont care how it looks. Does that detract from the idea? To me, yes. To everyone else, probably not. Im not going to sit here and battle against cards like this, because I know that fight is a futile one. However, Upper Deck did find a way to use unique memorabilia pieces in the past and have done it well:

2005 Exquisite Reggie Wayne Signed GU Shoulder Pad Autograph

2005 Exquisite Deion Sanders Signed GU Shoulder Pad Autograph

2005 Exquisite Tiki Barber Signed GU Helmet Auto

Other formats including booklets and other situations can circumvent the need for design on a massive patch card:

2014 Inception Johnny Manziel Auto Jumbo Patch Booklet

2012 National Treasures Andrew Luck Booklet Jumbo Patch Auto

I dont think Panini cares very much considering how successful these cards have become, but when you see how much Immaculate has tanked outside of these cards, maybe its worth more consideration than they are giving it.