I am a fan of the design of Topps Prime this year, as I think it is one of the better looking versions of the set that I have seen in a long time. In its run, the cards have all taken relatively the same formula, and Im glad that they are switching it up a bit this year. It looks really good. The issue that is really clear is that Topps Prime should have never been released with THIS many redemptions. There are an absolute ton.

Like mentioned above, there are a lot of really cool cards that may be overlooked due to this problem:

2014 Topps Prime Jadeveon Clowney Auto Booklet Six Piece /10

2014 Topps Prime Brett Favre Auto SSP

2014 Topps Prime Kelvin Benjamin Quad Patch Auto

2014 Topps Prime Giovani Bernard Quad Patch Auto

2014 Topps Prime Jimmy Garropolo Five Piece Booklet Auto Patch

Its worth mentioning that Topps has had relatively no issues with redemptions so far this year, which is a big win in itself. There have been scattered players with cards unsigned in other products, but now that the stickers signed at the Rookie Premiere and the Draft are running out, its beginning to look a bit bleak. More than 10 players are redemptions for Prime.

There is no doubt that Topps is NOT the only one to blame here, as there is no doubt that the players have culpability just like they always do. They have a responsibility through their contracts and the PA to get their shit signed on time. That being said, I doubt Johnny Manziel gives a crap about signing cards at this point, especially when Panini has made it very worth his while to sign more with a focus on their stuff.  Contract or no contract.

My biggest gripe with this whole situation is that there are a lot of reasons to push back the product to wait for some of the stickers to come back, as that would give more completeness to the set. I opened about 4 boxes and ended up with six, you heard that right, SIX redemptions. That should never happen.

Now, Topps has historically had issues with customer service, and if this continues to be as big a problem, its likely those challenges will get worse. Even though they are exiting football (for lack of a better explanation) in 2016, they still need to make money NOW. That doesnt change. That means they have a reason to perform well, and this is not anywhere close to that standard.

So far here is a list of players who have redemptions in Prime:

• Johnny Manziel
• Paul Richardson
• Michael Sam
• Odell Beckham
• Le’Veon Bell
• Carlos Hyde
• Dri Archer
• Derek Carr
• David Fales
• Logan Thomas
• Josh Huff
• Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
• Jarvis Landry
• Donte Moncreif
• Tre Mason
• Khalil Mack
• Julio Jones
• Marqise Lee
• Marshawn Lynch
• Earl Thomas

Although some of these players also have live content, but there are a ton of the redemptions floating around because of how many autos these players are scheduled to sign. Lets just hope this is not an issue that continues because it is going to be a VERY long year for Topps if that is the case. It will also wipe out a lot of the great work they are doing in producing some really awesome looking cards.