A simple idea, a colorful parallel rainbow, a focus on autographs and some star power with the challenge of a chase are all ingredients for a winner if you pull the right guy at the right time.

The card you see above? It's one of 75 2017 Panini Contenders Optic Red autographs signed by red-hot Kansas City Chiefs QB and potential league MVP Patrick Mahomes II -- a guy who was a promising rookie with little-to-no playing time at the time of this one's arrival.

Now? In a PSA 10 slab, it was a card that sold for $5,800 in late September. Another one like it? It's at $6,500 in an active auction. And, yes, there are rarer parallels that are even pricier -- and the lower-grade copies of these are strong sellers, too.

The crazy part? The boxes (and cases) that these cards come in can still be found without breaking the bank.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but break highlights in today's edition, including two Flawless Logoman cards.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post 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: 2017 Donruss Optic NFL (Special Edition blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 24
Base set completion: 
11 of 100 (11 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Julio Jones, J.J. Watt, Matt Forte, Travis Kelce, Mike Wallace, Kelvin Benjamin, Terrelle Pryor Sr.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: A couple of big-picture discussions about cards, MLB and NFL breaks and other interesting pulls.

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One of the biggest highlights for the San Francisco 49ers this season can be found on cardboard.

That highlight? The NFL debut of QB Nick Mullens on Thursday Night Football  last week as the former Southern Miss star has his first cards available for just the next couple of hours via Panini Instant, the company's real-time card platform.

Mullens arrived on Thursday with a 16-for-22, 262-yard showing against the hapless Oakland Raiders -- a game that included three touchdown passes for the un-drafted rookie and a 34-3 win when it was all said and done.

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It's no surprise to see a New Orleans Saints player with a gaudy stat line but this time it's a dominating game from a guy who's been a dominator all year.

Saints WR Michael Thomas dialed up a big night in a win over the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Rams with 12 catches for 211 yards and a touchdown that included a "call"afterward. (That was likely to the league office to see how big his fine would be for using a prop on the field, especially if it wasn't the league-approved brand of phone he had hidden under the goalpost.)

This former Ohio State star is all over cardboard with more than 2,500 different cards since his arrival in 2016 NFL boxes and he's got more than 800 different autographed cards for fans to chase, too. >> Check out his autos on eBay  The game was his biggest of the year and just his third 100-yard game Despite that, he's fourth in the NFL with 880 yards this season and is second in receptions. With a lot of toys in the Drew Brees-led arsenal, Thomas might be overlooked on his own team to a degree when it comes to cardboard but he shouldn't be.

>> Click here to shop for football boxes on BlowoutCards.com.

Keep reading for more guys who generated some buzz on the field this week.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls and showing off a PSA submission to start a new week.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Some interesting MLB and NFL discussions and breaks for those sports in today's edition.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but big pulls and breaks in today's edition -- check 'em out here.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales just two days into the new month.

Wave 2 is here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye.

2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition baseball hobby box
Sure, this one's listed as a baseball set with that World Series-dominating guy, David Price, on the box from back when he was fresh off the Vanderbilt field, but this one has a lot of other surprises that makes it one to definitely consider as it celebrates the college game with a number of other inclusions that were helping shape a different card landscape back then that we see a little more familiarly today in a number of directions. Notable ink found here includes Price, Madison Bumgarner, Josh Donaldson, Corey Kluber, Jake Arrieta, Dellin Betances, Jerry Tarkanian, Don Haskins, Rick Majerus, Rollie Massimino, Ara Parseghian, Dale Brown, Dean Smith, Gene Keady, Jim Boeheim, Steve Spurrier, Tom Osborne, Vince Dooley, Jennie Finch, Rebecca Lobo, Brandi Chastain, Bill Walton, Dominique Wilkins, Summer Sanders and a number of other college stars and coaches in a few sports who don't have a lot of cardboard. You get four hits per box here and there are a number of other inserts that can also pack some punch if you land the right names. It's worth a look at its reduced price.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Discussions of Flawless FOTL and the PSA-BGS debate get them going along with big pulls as we head into the weekend.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Derrick Rose's big night and plenty of highlights from MLB, NFL and soccer boxes.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Just big breaks and other from-pack highlights in today's edition.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post 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: 2018 Donruss football cards (mega box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 8 (seven Donruss, one 2017 Panini Illusions)
Cards per box: 61
Base set completion: 
36 of 300 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 3

Notables on base cards – Earl Campbell, Andrew Luck, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Amari Cooper, Jared Goff, Mitchell Trubisky, Odell Beckham Jr. (2)

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Klay Thompson's new record, a collector's new Mickey Mantle Rookie Card, big pulls and more in today's edition.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post 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: 2016 Donruss Optic football cards (collector's box)
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 40
Base set completion: 
19 of 100 (19 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Drew Brees, David Johnson, Todd Gurley II, Le'Veon Bell, Jordan Reed, DeVante Parker, Randall Cobb, Greg Olsen, DeMarco Murray, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, LeSean McCoy, Carlos Hyde, Ameer Abdullah, Frank Gore, Doug Baldwin, Chris Ivory, Joe Flacco, Stefon Diggs

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It was The Week of the Running Back if you ask me.

Pittsburgh's James Conner was one of eight RBs with 95 rushing yards or more this week -- seven topped the century mark -- and this former Pitt star had 24 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-18 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns. He also added five catches for 66 yards, helping collectors and fans really wonder what might happen when (if?) Le'Veon Bell walks through that door. Conner's Rookie Cards and debut ink from last season look even more appealing, though the whole Bell thing does hold back potential a bit (for now). There's some risk picking up his cardboard but there could be rewards if you're selective and he locks in as the Steelers' future guy and continues to play well.

>> Check out James Conner autos on eBay

>> Click here to shop for football boxes on BlowoutCards.com.

Keep reading for more guys who generated some buzz on the field this week.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: World Series chatter and Clayton Kershaw fallout, MLB breaks, NFL breaks, the "best case of my life" from the NBA and more.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Max Muncy's World Series marathon-ending heroics, big NFL and MLB pulls and more.

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There aren't a lot of details on this new Panini America release other than, well, if you run into Barry Sanders this weekend you might get one from him.

"Excited for homecoming and the opportunity to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my 1988 season w/ @OSUAthletics & @CowboyFB," Sanders tweeted on Friday. "My friends @PaniniAmerica created a special card set [featuring] the classic 1988 Donruss design. Find me this weekend & I just might give you one! #WhoDoYouCollect"

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls on Flawless arrival day, Mystery Box arrivals begin and other notable finds.

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What: 2018 Panini Contenders football cards
Arrives: Dec. 19
Box basics: Five autographs per 18-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Contenders takes the field with a new twist on its famed Tickets that now include "stubs" and plenty of rookie energy in this new release.

Keep reading for more info as well as some early images.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: World Series chatter, First Off The Line breaks, a deep question on Rookie Cards, Halloween sketches and more.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, big pulls and big pulls in today's edition.

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