By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Topps released 2013 Topps Archives this featuring designs of old sets with autographs from fan favorites throughout the years.

But you didn’t think colleting the base set was going to be easy, did you?

There are photo variations for some of the players. Right now, it seems to be with last year’s rookies. The gallery below is incomplete, but as we get more information and photos, we will update the post. Please keep in mind, this is a work in progress. If you see any others, let me know so we can update the post.

The regular base card is on the left with the photo variation on the right.

#1 Andrew Luck

#19 Russell Wilson

#75 Trent Richardson

#101 Doug Martin

#146 Alfred Morris

#150 Robert Griffin III

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

High-end college collectors should prepare for 2012 Exquisite Football coming out in June.

The release will include six cards in every box with five of them being autographs. There will be at least one Rookie Autograph Patch and one UD Black or UD Black Rookie Lustrous Signature.

Back again are Exquisite Choice Dual and Quad Signatures along with Exquisite Book Marks.

But Upper Deck is adding new elements as well with Exquisite Dimensions, Exquisite Sixteen and Exquisite Art

There are three boxes to every case and collectors will get a chance to snag two autographs in every case from a player on the following list: Jerry Rice, John Elway, Dan Marino, Barry Sanders, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Namath, Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill.

In addition, Upper Deck will include rare redemption cards for a full Rookie Autographed Patch Set.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Topps released 2012 Turkey Red Football this week – an online-only product. The product shipped over the last couple of days with collectors finding autographs, minis, printing plates and photo variations.

The photo variations were seemingly a surprise. In the preview, Topps didn’t announce there would be different pictures for some of the cards, but it didn’t take long for dealers and collectors to spot the differences.

So far, we’ve spotted 10 football rookies with photo variations. The first card in the picture is what we presume to the photo variation and the second card is the base. However, as more information comes out, this could change.

Here is what we have so far, and we will update the gallery if more variations pop up.

Kendall Wright

David Wilson

Trent Richardson

Robert Griffin III

Doug Martin

Ryan Tannehill

Brandon Weeden

Justin Blackmon

Andrew Luck

Michael Floyd

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Football collectors have been waiting on their Blue Wave Refractor packs for several months. The first batch of cards has finally shipped.

These packs were available to collectors who pulled autograph redemptions from 2012 Topps Chrome football. Not everyone has gotten their packs yet because Topps is sending them out with the redemptions that have been fulfilled so far such as some Russell Wilson and Dwayne Allen.

The first group of collectors getting the Blue Wave packs could likely benefit most on the secondary market. The first bunch of cards on eBay will mean those that one could spark a bidding war because of the limited quantities of the cards.

But these cards aren’t going for outrageous prices unlike some of the baseball counterparts from 2012 Bowman Chrome, likely because of the lack of autographs on most of the cards.

So far, an Alfred Morris autograph sold for $200. Some non-autographed singles have sold for about $10-$20 with others selling for less.

But some of the bigger names such as Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, Alfred Morris, Doug Martin and Josh Gordon and running through auction right now and could command good prices.

The biggest names have yet to show up.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

The 2012 NFL season will be remembered for the hyped-up rookies that made good and veterans who proved they were still elite players despite serious offseason surgery.

However, several football players unexpectedly jumped on to the scene in 2012 – guys who were afterthoughts or backups coming into the season.

Here’s a look at some who surprised in 2012.

1. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay, RB (Martin’s OPG): The Tampa Bay rookie had 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns on 319 carries. Martin was a first-round draft pick, but excelling this quickly caught many by surprise. By Week 9, NFL fans knew his name as Martin rushed for 251 yards in a 42-32 win over Oakland.

2. Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco, QB (OPG): The second-year player started the season on the bench as Alex Smith’s backup. It seemed Smith was becoming the quarterback the 49ers imagined he would be, and Kaepernick’s role became murkier. However, an injury to Smith threw Kaepernick into the mix and he finished the season as San Francisco’s number-one arm. He had 1,725 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with 321 rushing yards in the final eight games of the regular season.

3. Alfred Morris, Washington, RB (OPG): The sixth-round draft pick probably was the biggest surprise of the 2012 rookie class. All the focus was on another rookie on the Redskins, but Morris couldn’t be ignored after averaging 98.2 yards a game through the first five games of the regular season. Morris finished the year with 1,613 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

4. Russell Wilson, Seattle, QB (OPG): Wilson was on the radar for many, he just didn’t get a lot of attention because of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. However, Wilson forced people to take notice and took the Seahawks deeper into the playoffs than any other rookie QB in 2012 – not too bad for a third round draft pick. He completed 252-of-393 passes for 3,118 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added four rushing TDs in the regular season.

So, who was your surprise of 2012?

Answer the question in the comments to win the Doug Martin patch card pictured above. Make sure to include your email address. One random winner from the comments will be selected on Monday.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Prizm football came out last week – Panini America’s answer to chrome to cards, a favorite among card collectors.

Prizm utilizes chrome-like technology on a new base design for its football product. The set features all the big football stars with 2012 rookies as well.

But like all “chrome-ish” type of cards, collectors seem to love color. In this case, it’s gold.

Gold Prizms are numbered to just 10 each, adding scarcity to a popular parallel with a clean design.

Just how well have the gold cards been doing?

Well, the few people who got to pull a Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck or Russell Wilson gold cards have probably been doing a little dance for days.

This Luck auction ends today (click here) and the cards has already surpassed $1,200. Another Luck auction (click here) is past $700.

But it doesn’t have to be one of the hot new rookies getting all the attention on the Prizm cards.

Even popular veterans seem to be drawing interest from collectors.

Here are prices of some completed listings:
- Wes Welker $70
- Reggie Bush $65
- Johnny Unitas $111.50
- Aaron Rodgers $275
- Adrian Peterson $203.45
- Walter Payton $202

However, the Prizm Rookie Cards are the big sellers.
- Robert Griffin III
- Andrew Luck
- Russell Wilson
- Alfred Morris
- Doug Martin
- Luke Kuechly
- Justin Blackmon
- Rueben Randle

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Between turkey, stuffing and Black Friday sales, Topps released 2012 Triple Threads Football last Friday.

For many, the anticipation for the high-end product was high. What names would be used for the 2012 Rookies? What combination would end up on cards together?

An interesting aspect of Triple Threads has been the White Whales, printing plates but with a different name.

Printing plate are collectible as 1-of-1 anyway, but giving it a name synonymous with elusiveness seems to add a different aspect.

Here’s a look at several popular White Whales on eBay right now – Check out some of these prices.

- 2012 Triple Threads Brock Osweiler auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Andrew Luck auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Kendall Wright auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Jerry Rice auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Doug Martin auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Trent Richardson auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Justin Blackmon auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads A.J. Green auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads David Wilson auto/patch

Here were a several auctions of White Whales that didn’t sell
- 2012 Triple Threads Eli Manning auto/jersey
- 2012 Triple Threads Trent Richardson auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Robert Griffin III auto/patch
- 2012 Triple Threads Nick Foles auto/jersey

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Pretty sure the title of the post says it all.

Washington Redskins rookie running back Alfred Morris had only appeared in Panini America and Upper Deck in 2012, but Morris’ first Topps cards will come out in Blue Wave Refractor redemption packs, Topps announced earlier this week.

Morris will not have any cards in 2012 Topps Chrome base, which officially releases Friday, but was included in the Blue Wave packs because the company only recently signed him to a deal.

Morris is fourth in the league in rushing yards with 793 – just a yard shy of third place and fellow rookie Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin.

Related post: Where to find Alfred Morris Rookie Cards

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

This week’s Monday Morning Collector was the toughest of the season. It was a fun weekend in terms of games and matchups, but then winners had to be picked.

The rookies were the biggest headache. Go with Doug Martin or Andrew Luck?

In the end, I decided to let you choose. Vote which rookie had the best week.

Now on to the awards:

Veteran of the Week
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings: There was speculation to the start the year Peterson wouldn’t be dynamic because of knee problems. After three straight games – and fourth this year – of more than 100 rushing yards, worries have seemingly wiped away.

Peterson had 182 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries (that’s an average of 10.7 yards a touch) in a 30-20 loss to Seattle.

Chase cards
2012 Gridiron Autographs #29 /15
2012 Topps Prolific Playmakers Relics Autographs #PPARAP /50
2012 Certified Mirror Blue #106 /100

Rookie of the Week
Option A: Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts: Luck completed 30-of-48 passes for 433 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-20 win over Miami. The 2012 top pick broke the rookie passing record set last year by Cam Newton.

Option B: Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs running back had 251 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries in a 42-32 win over the Oakland Raiders. He’s only the second back in NFL history to run for at least 250 yards and four TDs in a single game.

Breakout Performance of the Week
Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears: Since being drafted in 2006, Marshall has had an up-and-down career with a slew of injuries. Marshall stayed healthy last year and was named the Pro Bowl MVP. He’s building on that success with the 7-1 Bears.

On Sunday, Marshall caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns in a 51-20 win over Tennessee.

Chase cards
2006 Exquisite Collection #110 autograph jersey RC /225
2006 SP Authentic #260 jersey autograph RC /999
2006 Topps Triple Threads #123 jersey autograph RC /99

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Editor’s note: Monday Morning Collector didn’t go out this week as I dealt with the storm and its aftermath in New York. However, I wanted to ensure collectors still had a chance to see what went on this weekend. Here’s an abbreviated version of MMC.

The one player everyone is talking about after Week 8 is Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin.

The rookie ran for 135 yards and a touchdown in a 36-17 win over Minnesota last Thursday. That would have been impressive enough on its own. However, Martin added 79 receiving yards and another touchdown on just three receptions.

That was Martin’s first game for more than 200 offensive yards, but since the Buccaneers’ bye week, Martin is averaging 155.7 offensive yards in three games.

Chase cards
- 2012 Certified jersey autograph /399 RC
- 2012 Bowman Rookie Autographs #155 SP
- 2012 Finest Autographs
- 2012 Gridiron #314 autograph /299

Other offensive standouts this week include Adrian Peterson (127 rushing yards), Trent Richardson (122 rushing yards), Jason Witten (167 receiving yards) and Matt Stafford (352 passing yards, four touchdowns).

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.