2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football Variations Guide
An early-season offering, the 2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football variations give collectors their first taste of the new crop of NFL talent. These College Ticket autographs showcase many of the key draftees for 2018, but from an NCAA perspective.
While the variations can be tricky to distinguish given that the RPS line has three different versions and a base card, the place collectors should check out is the back of the card.
Thanks to a tip from an eagle-eyed reader (Jake), it appears the key to identifying the 2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football variations is the lined section just below the player image and bio on the back.
2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football Variations Cheat
While it is obvious that the image on the front changes for each player's edition, the back helps provide some uniformity across the lineup. Simply look to the darkened notches to determine the version you have. Cards with only two straight lines should be the base, while added notches indicate the different variations.
Version 1 (Base) - no notches
Version 2 (Variation A) - 1 notch
Version 3 (Variation B) - 2 notches
Version 4 (Variation C) - 3 notchesย
It is important to note that this is not officially confirmed by Panini, but it does appear to check out based on cards that have surfaced. Please reach outย by email if you see something different.
2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football Variations RPS College Ticket Autograph Gallery
So, going a step further, we will use top-overall pick Baker Mayfield as the example. All four versions for the young QB are shown below with the corresponding backs. Every signed College Ticket card for Mayfield is limited to 50 copies or less. This is also the case for several of the other big names.
2018 Contenders Draft Picks Football RPS College Ticket Variations Checklist
For these 24 RPS players, including Mayfield, there are four different primary versions. While that includes one main card and three variations, Panini revealed that all RPS cards are either short prints (SP - 250 or less) or super short prints (SSP - 50 or less), and the variation autographs are all SSP. There are also Draft Blue Foil and Draft Red Foil parallels for each version, and these too are SSP. The rest of the parallels are numbered to 25 or less.
So, just to be clear, if you pull any of the 24 cards from the list below, no matter the image, and it's not numbered, the specific print run is no higher than 250 copies for SP cards, and SSP cards are limited to 50 copies or less across the board.
Redemptions (R) are noted when known. *Christian Kirk has some liveย autographs and some redemptions.*
**Lamar Jackson cards are inserted in 2020 boxes.**
101 Sam Darnold - USC Trojans SSP
102 Josh Rosen - UCLA Bruins SSP
103 Josh Allen - Wyoming Cowboys SSP
104 Lamar Jackson - Louisville Cardinals **
105 Saquon Barkley - Penn St. Nittany Lions SSP (R)
106 Derrius Guice - LSU Tigers SSP
107 Courtland Sutton - SMU Mustangs SP
108 James Washington - Oklahoma St. Cowboys SP
109 Christian Kirk - Texas A&M Aggies SP (R)*
110 Calvin Ridley - Alabama Crimson Tide SSP
111 Mason Rudolph - Oklahoma St. Cowboys SSP
112 Nick Chubb - Georgia Bulldogs SP
113 Ronald Jones II - USC Trojans SP
114 Deon Cain - Clemson Tigers SP (R)
115 Dante Pettis - Washington Huskies SP (R)
116 Kerryon Johnson - Auburn Tigers SP (R)
117 Anthony Miller - Memphis Tigers SP
118 Luke Falk - Washington St. Cougars SP
119 Bo Scarbrough - Alabama Crimson Tide SP (R)
120 Deontay Burnett - USC Trojans SP
121 Simmie Cobbs Jr. - Indiana Hoosiers SP (R)
122 Royce Freeman - Oregon Ducks SP
123 DJ Chark - LSU Tigers SP
124 Baker Mayfield - Oklahoma Sooners SSP
125 Nyheim Hines - NC State Wolfpack SP
101 Sam Darnold - USC Trojans SSP
102 Josh Rosen - UCLA Bruins SSP
103 Josh Allen - Wyoming Cowboys SSP
104 Lamar Jackson - Louisville Cardinals **
105 Saquon Barkley - Penn St. Nittany Lions SSP (R)
106 Derrius Guice - LSU Tigers SSP
107 Courtland Sutton - SMU Mustangs SSP
108 James Washington - Oklahoma St. Cowboys SSP
109 Christian Kirk - Texas A&M Aggies SSP
110 Calvin Ridley - Alabama Crimson Tide SSP
111 Mason Rudolph - Oklahoma St. Cowboys SSP
112 Nick Chubb - Georgia Bulldogs SSP
113 Ronald Jones II - USC Trojans SSP
114 Deon Cain - Clemson Tigers SSP (R)
115 Dante Pettis - Washington Huskies SSP (R)
116 Kerryon Johnson - Auburn Tigers SSP (R)
117 Anthony Miller - Memphis Tigers SSP
118 Luke Falk - Washington St. Cougars SSP
119 Bo Scarbrough - Alabama Crimson Tide SSP (R)
120 Deontay Burnett - USC Trojans SSP
121 Simmie Cobbs Jr. - Indiana Hoosiers SSP (R)
122 Royce Freeman - Oregon Ducks SSP
123 DJ Chark - LSU Tigers SSP
124 Baker Mayfield - Oklahoma Sooners SSP
125 Nyheim Hines - NC State Wolfpack SSP
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