Buzz Break: 2024 Panini Score-A-Treat football cards

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The box: 2024 Panini Score-A-Treat football cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Packs per box: 40
Cards per pack: 3
Cards per box: 120
Pumpkin set completion: 
58 of 350 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 2

Notables on base cards – Barry Sanders, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Lamar Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Deebo Samuel, Eddie George, Will Anderson Jr., Warren Moon, Bernie Kosar

Rising Stars Rookie Cards (20) – Bo Nix, Joe Milton, Drake Maye, Spencer Rattler, Michael Pratt, Malik Nabers (2), Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Legette, Ladd McConkey, Adonai Mitchell, Johnny Wilson, Jaheim Bell, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Trey Benson (2), Jaylen Wright, Chop Robinson, Quinyon Mitchell

Insert* cards: 60 (a sampling of everything in gallery below)
Bats set veterans (40) – Notables include Roger Staubach, Anthony Richardson, Jerry Rice, Deion Sanders, Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, Drew Brees, Justin Herbert, Shaun Alexander, Trevor Lawrence, Boomer Esiason, Jordan Love

Bats set Rising Stars RCs (20) – Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., Jordan Travis, Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Xavier Worthy, Roman Wilson, Johnny Wilson, Brenden Rice, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan, Keon Coleman, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Bucky Irving, Jaylen Wright, Dallas Turner, Byron Murphy, Chop Robinson, Cooper DeJean, Terrion Arnold

(* -- Technically this set is a not a parallel as they are packed out in same volumes as the orange set in the packs, but since Panini noted these among "randomly inserted cards" on packaging I'll list it as a parallel. It's not.)

Autographs/Memorabilia: None in this release.

What's Buzz-worthy: This one feels like a parallel release to 2024 Score and it is -- kind of -- but with a smaller set size that makes this one a preview of sorts for what's scheduled to come later this month pending delays. This one is simple -- 300 veteran cards and 50 rookies on Rising Stars cards -- with a orange (pumpkin) version and a green (bats) version both packed out evenly in these via three-card packs. (You should use scissors to open here a simply pulling on the wrapper can damage cards.) These are as simple as it gets -- no gloss, no foil -- and stock that's as thin as it gets, too. This one has a deep checklist of past and present stars with some players on defense and the lines who might not have a lot of past cards as well as newcomers. The rookies are all mugshots with some having NFL uni collars (and packaging notes 49 players but forum users have found 50) and it's all got the 1990-1991 Score mash-up feel that's to come in Score but with Halloween touches here. (If you didn't guess by the name or the packaging, this one is intended to be a Trick-or-Treat reward alternative to candy and bags are around $20 ... so that's why I bit.) Do the math and you're looking at about six boxes to build any one set (barring collation tricks) but that could -- could -- make for treats with singles at times when people opt to not bother opening and just buy their obscure (or star) players outright. Now, why did I sleeve everything you see? Well, with this price and volume I like it and I'm a grader ... these could make for some interesting sledding on that front with stock that's on par with 1988 Donruss for its lightweight status and then with no gloss. Over time, merely sorting these could dampen the ink here and wear surfaces. (Gloss protects that ... it's not here.) The good news is the backs are super clean and crisp -- no Pro Set stock issues here -- so it's just probably a matter of corners or centering. I'll grade a couple favorites here and there at some point and since I may not dabble with a lot of NFL this year thanks to a lot of variables -- I'll probably just pick off singles -- and some of these RCs might be my only looks here. (At same time, sleeving anything you like here is recommended for the reasons mentioned earlier.) The only chase here are Trick Or Treat parallels that are limited to only 99 serial-numbered copies per card -- so grab those if you like the player ... they could be tougher finds over time when a lot of these end up in kids' (non-collectors) hands or unopened since this one is pretty non-traditional. This one is proof that you can still put out a simple set that can have appeal and star power without all the plastic stock or flash that so much stuff out there carries to the point of overload ... and it can be done at a cheap price. Will fans pick these up? They should ... and there will likely be interest for stars or players with a little less cardboard in here over time, too, even if there's plenty available. I'll likely rip more ... just for fun.

Product Grade: A- (for what it is, this is super-simple and clean)
Box Grade: A- (good mix but still a lot of notables I didn't find)
Fun Grade: B+ (super simple stuff here)

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