Buzz Break: 2020 Panini Contenders football cards (blaster)

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: 2020 Panini Contenders football cards (blaster box)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Packs per box: 5
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 40
Base set completion: 
34 of 100 (34 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards: Josh Allen, Nick Chubb, Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, Daniel Jones, T.J. Watt, Davante Adams, Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Mark Ingram

Insert cards: 5 (all in gallery below with some base)
MVP Contenders (2) – Jared Goff, Aaron Donald
Rookie of the Year Contenders (1) – Tee Higgins
Round Numbers (1) – Justin Herbert & Jordan Love
Legendary Contenders (1) – Emmitt Smith

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Rookie Ticket Wild Card Autographs (1) – Anfernee Jennings

What's Buzz-worthy: To be honest, this brand has never been a huge favorite of mine like many NFL autograph collectors out there, and some of it's the ticket design that we get some version of each year. Mostly, though, it's because the lineup here is a small one -- and that is accentuated a lot with a break of a blaster. It's super-heavy on base cards with a relatively small set -- so ripping boxes will get really repetitive on the base front -- and then only few inserts in the box. (This is how it's been for years.) The good news there? The inserts look good this year -- they are crisp and clean if you ask me -- and there needs to be more of them. For the base ticket design, that ticket box is just too overwhelming -- I said the same on the baseball release -- though it looks better here with some stronger photos (more to choose from) and team logos in the design. The weird hard-to-read thick font is back on the backs of these but those card backs do look pretty solid with a stat line and longer blurb than seen in many releases these days. The hit here was a retail-only parallel auto -- a plus -- and then I landed some good names among the inserts ... a comfortable enough box from this stingy format (small box, lean on inserts) to get it an A-. Given this brand's consistency, really the only thing that bugs me this year vs. others is the thickness of the ticket vs. the player on the front and the back type on the back. All in all otherwise, this one is one that will be shredded hard (and already has its retail boxes being botted hard and flipped hard online) for the ink from a solid crop of rookies. Contenders autos are always popular and that's the focus of many collectors here.

Product Grade: B+
Box Grade: A- (ink not the norm)
Fun Grade: B (still needs more inserts or variety)

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