BACK TO HOBBY DISTRIBUTION FOR 2020 PANINI BLACK FOOTBALL

Dark and stormy nights have been the backdrop of many football games over the years. The ambiance, the drama — both take on greater intensity on days like these. Such is the case with 2020 Panini Black Football, a hits-centric release that uses darks designs at every corner of the checklist. We’ll leave the “stormy” to one set of autographs or the background ambiance to those who feel so inclined to bust a box or sort through their stacks on dark days with booming skies. Hobby boxes deliver five cards. Three of these are either autographs or memorabilia cards. Black’s shell set has 100 cards with a checklist that’s a mix of current stars and retired greats. The design uses modern lines to present a pair of photos — an action shot and a zoomed-in picture of the player’s face that evokes a certain intensity. Parallels, which land one per pack, come in the following: Silver (/50), Copper (/35), Emerald (/25), Gold (/10) and Platinum (1/1).

AUTOGRAPHS AND MEMORABILIA CARDS

Once you get past the base card and parallel in each pack, the remaining three cards are all autographs and memorabilia cards. The first of these is a Rookie Patch Autograph. Besides the signature, these come with a larger-than-normal swatch. Additional parallels include Silver (/99 or less), Copper (/50 or less), Emerald (/25 or less), Gold (/10 or less) and Platinum (1/1). Boxes of 2020 Black Football have an additional autograph as well. These fall under a few different themes. Capstones, which were last seen in football in 2019 Panini Majestic, make the brand jump. These are distinct for their four-corners approach to memorabilia to go alongside the signature. Silver versions have no more than 25 copies each. There’s also Gold (/10 or less) and Platinum (1/1). Another spot of on-card ink is Bright Lights Signatures. This is a new set that has Silver (/25 or less), Gold (/10 or less) and Platinum (1/1) versions on the checklist. More hard autographs can be found in Midnight Signatures, Shadow Ink and Storm Signatures. Evoking something of a Silhouettes vibe are Sizeable Signatures Jersey and Sizeable Signatures Rookie Jersey. In both instances, swatches are on the large side. Silver versions for both have no more than 50 copies each. There’s also Emerald (/25 or less), Gold (/10 or less) and Platinum (1/1). Multi-signature options include Super Bowl Teammates Dual and Triple Autographs. As for the memorabilia inserts, set names include Rookie Influx, Futuristic — both of which use big swatches — and Jet Black Materials. After taking a somewhat lengthy break, Panini Black Football returned in 2019 as an online-exclusive. 2020 Panini Black Football takes a traditional hobby approach to its distribution.