Buzz Break: 2016 Panini Contenders football cards (blaster box)

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more — or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2016 Panini Contenders football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 5
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 40
Base set completion: 
33 of 100 (33 percent)
Duplicates: 4

Notable names pulled on base cards: Odell Beckham Jr., Mark Ingram, Bart Starr, J.J. Watt, Andrew Luck, Todd Gurley, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Julian Edelman

Insert cards: 2 (more images in gallery below)
Legendary Contenders (1) – Roger Staubach
MVP Contenders (1) – Andrew Luck

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Rookie Ticket Autograph (1) – Austin Johnson

What’s Buzz-worthy: The hobby version of Contenders won’t arrive until January, so these $20 blaster boxes that have arrived at retail a bit early offer a head start on seeing the array of ftickets this year. Just like last year’s brand at retail, this box delivered only two inserts and a hit. This time it was an autograph instead of a jersey card, which is a plus. (Will the auto here be a short-printed one? We’ll find out soon.) The design of this brand is crisp and clean with a good amount of info but the foil-stamping on the base cards (the touch that gives every card its ticket feel) is overbearing, especially when you sort card after card. One weird thing here? There were some packs with duplicates, which probably shouldn’t happen with so few standard cards in the basic set but even fewer cards in a blaster box. Overall, this was a decent collecting experience just not all that fun with just three cards in a 40-card box that weren’t base cards.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: B
Fun Grade: C

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