2009 Topps Finest Football Product Review
Good: Modern, sleek looking design, plenty of rookie cards and a great selection of rookie autographs.
Bad: The different levels of refractors are confusing and hard to distinguish The pigskin refractors are a minor annoyance as well.
The Bottom Line: A quality product through and through, the latest installment of the Topps Finest Football brand doesn't disappoint. A slick design, tons of rookie cards and an ample selection of refractors overshadow the set's various minor shortcomings and lack of innovation. All in all 2009 Topps Finest Football is one of the better football releases of the year.
Design
2009 Topps Finest Football's base cards feature an ultra-modern design that is both crisp and futuristic without being too over the top. The design works especially well when combined with Topps' patented refractor technology.
The set's autographed rookie jersey patch cards are a mixed bag, however. They seem to consistently feature premium multi-color jersey patches based on the dozen or so of them I've seen. Despite the quality of the patches, the aesthetic appeal of the cards is limited due to their poor and unwieldy overall presentation.
Checklist
2009 Finest Football is packed to the brim with rookie cards. Upon completing my break I was left with a huge stack of base rookie cards, and about half a dozen refractor rookie cards. Topps didn't skimp on the base refractors either. Cumulatively these two factors are the product's strongest asset.
While I like the large selection of refractors, its hard to distinguish between the different refractor levels. The new pigskin refractor parallels are a fairly empty addition to 2009 Finest Football that is more gimmick then actual substance.
Value
I've never liked the mini box configuration adopted by Topps Finest in recent years, but it does serve the purpose of making the product more accessible to collectors who could not otherwise afford it, earning it some points in the value department. At around $85 per 2 mini box hobby box, 2009 Finest Football delivers ample value that justifies its price.
Enjoyability
I always enjoy breaking Topps Finest products, be it Finest Football, Baseball, or Basketball and 2009 Finest Football was no exception. I definitely liked it more then its 2009 baseball sister set. Likewise, I would rank it in the top 25% of 2009 football card releases.
Box Break
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Configuration: 2 mini-boxes per box. 6 packs per mini-box. 5 cards per pack. (12 total packs per box)
2009 Topps Finest Football honors the finest on the field with cards spotlighting this year's Rookie Class as well as Eli Manning, Tom Brady and LaDainian Tomlinson Finest Moments Autograph Cards. NEW this year, Finest Football offers Rookie Autograph Letter and Patch Cards!
Every Master Box Contains:
- New! Two Rookie Numbered Autograph Letter And/Or Patch Cards - 1 Per Mini-Box!
- New! Two Pigskin Refractor Cards - 1 Per Mini-Box!
- Ten Parallel Cards - 4 Per Mini Box!
- All Rookie And Rookie Autograph Cards Are Numbered!
AUTOGRAPH- ROOKIE CARDS - 270 VARIATIONS - 1 PER MINI BOX!
Rookie Autograph On-Letter Cards (40)- #'d to 199 or less
- White X-Fractor (40) - 1 of 1!
- Red Refractor (40) - #' d to 15
Rookie Autograph Patch Cards (30) - #'d
- White X-Fractor (30) - 1 of 1!
- Red Refractor (30) - #'d to 15
- Gold Refractor (30) - #'d
- Refractor (30) - #'d
PIGSKIN REFRACTOR CARDS - 20 TOTAL SUBJECTS - 1 PER MINI BOX!
- Rookies (20)
BASE CARDS - 100 TOTAL SUBJECTS - 5 PER PACK!
- Veterans (60)
- Rookies (40)
BASE REFRACTOR PARALLEL CARDS - 700 VARIATIONS - 5 Per Mini-Box!
- X-Fractor (100 subjects) - 1 of 1!
- Framed Printing Plate (100 subjects) - 1 of 1!
- Red (100 subjects) - #'d to 25
- Gold (100 subjects) - #'d to 75
- Green (100 subjects) - #'d to 199
- Blue (100 subjects) - #'d to 499
- Refractor (100 subjects)
FINEST MOMENTS AUTOGRAPH CARDS - 75 VARIATIONS
- Rookies (10) - #'d TBD
- Veterans (15) - #'d TBD
- Finest Moments parallel versions:
White X-Fractor (25) - 1 of 1!
Red Refractor (25) - #'d to 5
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 2009 TOPPS FINEST BASEBALL HOBBY BOX FACTORY SEALED $109.99 |
 2011 TOPPS FINEST BASEBALL HOBBY BOX FACTORY SEALED $119.99 |
 2009 Topps Finest Football Hobby 3 Box lot $477.95 |
