2015 Panini Flawless Football sees return of autographs, gems

By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor

2015 Panini Flawless Football heads back into the ultra-premium territory the brand is known for. When it made its gridiron debut in 2014, it arrived much earlier in the season for what most products of this nature are known for. However, in its sophomore season, Flawless moves to the end of the 2015 release calendar.

While the timing has changed, the overall look and feel has not. Each box (or will it be a briefcase once again) has ten cards: six autographs, two memorabilia cards and a pair of gem cards.

Get a fully sortable 2015 Panini Flawless Football checklist and price guide access.

Base Set

The 2015 Panini Flawless Football base set isn’t “just cardboard.” Each one comes with a small gem embedded in them. They might not be at the level of what you’d find in a high-end piece of jewelry. Rather, the intention is to be a symbol of the set’s premium aspirations.

Base versions have diamonds and are numbered to 20. Parallels not only add color, but switch up the gemstones as well. These come in Ruby (/15), Sapphire (/10), Emerald (/5) and a second Diamond (1/1).

Autographs and Memorabilia

Only so many combinations of autographs and memorabilia can be done. Instead of changing things entirely, 2015 Panini Flawless Football aims for themes and filling in gaps.

From the strictly autograph side, rookies, veterans and retired stars all have different inserts. Progressions autographs use a multiple-exposure sort of approach to show a rookie in action. Rookie Inscriptions are back with on-card signatures from top first-year players like Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.

Flawless Victors has a checklist that’s exclusively Super Bowl champions. Tom Brady and Troy Aikman are among those in the set.

Memorable Marks is another autograph set with all-time greats including Bo Jackson and Dick Butkus.

From there, other inserts mix autographs with memorabilia. Greats Patches Autographs have single- and dual-swatch versions. Single-swatch cards are numbered to 25. However, there are a few parallels that get incrementally tougher: Blue (/20), Ruby (/15), Gold (/10), Emerald (/5) and Platinum (1/1). Among the “Greats” are Brett Favre, Roger Staubach, Joe Namath and Peyton Manning.

2015 Panini Flawless Football also has Rookie Patches Autographs with large pieces of memorabilia.

Several signers in 2015 Panini Flawless Football did not sign for the brand’s first release. Aaron Rodgers, Mike Ditka, Clay Matthews, Michael Strahan and Brian Urlacher are among those making their Flawless autograph debuts.

Basic memorabilia cards fall two per box.

2015 Panini Flawless Football at a glance:

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 10
Boxes per case: 2
Release date: April 8, 2016

What to expect in a hobby box:

• Autographs – 6
• Memorabilia Cards – 2
• Gem Cards – 2

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