2016 Panini Contenders Football Variations Keep It Simple

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2016 Panini Contenders Football Variations Header

By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor

The 2016 Panini Contenders Football variations might be the easiest ones to spot yet. And that might be a good thing for set builders and team collectors who are still going to have plenty to chase.

Sticking with recent years, the list of 2016 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Autograph variations is long. The checklist has more than 100 of them plus several parallels for each.

In the past, they’ve often been tricky to spot. Sometimes it’s the difference between a player running and catching. Perhaps it’s a missing logo on a piece of gear. Other times, it’s just a short raise of an arm.

The main 2016 Panini Contenders Football variations are a lot more obvious than that. A lot. Base Rookie Ticket Autographs use a vertical design. Variations are horizontal.

It’s that simple.

Actual, it’s even more basic. Rather than doubling up on spots on the checklist, variations have their own numbers. For example, Carson Wentz’s regular vertical card is #302. His horizontal variation is #342.

To make it even more concrete, here’s the Rookie Ticket Autograph of Trevor Davis, #338 in the set:

2016 Panini Contenders Trevor Davis Rookie Ticket Autograph RPS

And here’s his variation, #378 (Playoff parallel):

2016 Contenders Football Variation Trevor Davis Playoff

Things line up very nicely when you compare regular RPS cards with the designated variations. They flow in the same order. The regular Rookie Ticket Autographs don’t work quite the same. Players with two different cards appear on a pair of spots on the checklist, each with a different design. However, the groupings Panini released on the checklist don’t line up exactly.

Now, there is a small wrinkle to this. Select Rookie Photo Shoot players have Sepia parallels threaded throughout the checklist. These are numbered like the main cards and have a vertical design but use a different photo.

2016 Contenders Football Sepia Championship Trevor Davis

These are separated from everything else. And the color makes them stand out. Each Sepia card still only has one version plus parallels.

Some, but not all, of the 2016 Panini Contenders Football short prints have been announced. Not surprisingly, variations are among them.

Comments? Questions? Contact Ryan Cracknell on Twitter @tradercracks.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site, like eBay, and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission.
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Ryan Cracknell

A collector for much of his life, Ryan focuses primarily on building sets, Montreal Expos and interesting cards. He's also got one of the most comprehensive collections of John Jaha cards in existence (not that there are a lot of them). Got a question, story idea or want to get in touch? You can reach him by email and through Twitter @tradercracks.

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1 comment

  1. Kerry Orton 9 January, 2017 at 10:43

    I watched two case breaks online this past weekend. No Wentz, no Prescott, no Henry, no Bosa, only 1 Goff, and 1 redemption Elliott. The good rookie autos must be scarce!

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