I've collected for decades -- both cardboard and beyond with plenty of autographs and game-used memorabilia in my stash -- but my biggest Black Friday find this year was one that I couldn't have topped if I had tried.

(Well, at least on my budget.)

It's my first full game-used NFL item and it comes with a pretty strong story but without my having to pay a premium price to go with it. How? It all came down to doing some research.

For a few months now I had been obsessing about finding a game-used NFL football for the heck of it -- a whim, really -- simply finding any ball on the cheap yet with some semblance of ironclad authentication. Better than that would be a ball with those attributes and also with some type of tie to what I collect, which really isn't any one particular NFL team or player but instead my school and many of its recent stars, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Thanks to Fanatics' business deal with its hometown Jacksonville Jaguars, the ball you see above is a reality in my collection and it came on the cheap for what it really is. That's thanks in part to the Getty Images app that anyone can download on their phone -- it's a free tool that any game-used memorabilia collector must have.

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What: 2017 Panini Vertex football cards
Arrives: Jan. 24
Box basics: Four autographs and two memorabilia cards per three-pack box (eight boxes per case via two inners)
Checklist: Click here to view

What's buzz-worthy: A new NFL brand with a familiar look if you're also a basketball collector arrives in January with plenty of hits per box and often multiple swatches per card, too, as part of a product that "showcases a variety of printing technologies to deliver distinct, jaw-dropping inserts."

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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 NFL (blaster box)
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 24
Base set completion: 
18 of 200 (9 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Veteran base cards – Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Melvin Gordon, DeAndre Hopkins, Tavon Austin, Sammy Watkins

Rookie Cards (12) – Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Jordan Howard, Moritz Böhringer, Kevin Hogan, Michael Thomas, Eli Apple, Kenny Clark, Robero Aguaya, Su'a Cravens, Vernon Hargreaves III, Kamalei Correa

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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 football Mega Box
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 9 (seven 2016 Donruss, two 2015 Gridiron Kings)
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 72
Donruss Base set completion: 
40 of 300 (13 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Barry Sanders, Mark Ingram, Todd Gurley, Derek Carr, Steve Largent, John Elway, Earl Campbell, Matt Ryan

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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 breaks in today's edition -- WWE, Holiday Boxes, Hall of Famers 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: Nothing but big pulls 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: One more day of just breaks 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: Nothing but breaks highlights as Buzz recovers from Black Friday.

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You don't have to wait until Black Friday for the BlowoutCards Doorbusters to have a jaw-dropper.

There's one of those dropping today -- in fact, it's available right now -- as you can land a box of 2014 Topps Turkey Red football cards for less than $5. (No, really, go look. We'll wait.)

As we've documented here before on The Buzz, every box of this one includes a rookie autograph -- and there are some rarer autos that are tough pulls guaranteed to fetch more than $5. Atop that, there are a number of variations that are also tough pulls. Check out the link for all the past details. 

It's not the only early Doorbuster, either.

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Buzz is a collector who has to be selective -- can't collect everything but would probably want to -- so that's why a day like Black Friday is important.

It's a time for me to try stuff I normally wouldn't -- or try something I've always eyed but never done simply because the price is right.

Blowout's Black Friday Doorbusters have been revealed and there are some serious bargains to be found along with the previous waves of Black November discounts on other brands beyond these. Keep your eyes on this forum link to get the latest of what's been unleashed on Friday -- and what's back in stock, too.

Keep reading for my picks on the deals that would get my attention first once those Friday prices kick in -- and then check out the full list here to see the prices. 

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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 breaks as we ready for Black Friday chaos.

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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: 2012 Panini Absolute Football (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby when available)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 81
Base set completion: 
77 of 100 (77 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Cam Newton, A.J. Green, Ben Roethlisberger, Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Ryan, Adrian Peterson, Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Dez Bryant

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 8 is here -- and it's a huge "mega wave" of more than 170 products -- 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.

2011 Wheels Element hobby boxes (and cases)
Chase Elliott is an established young star in NASCAR these days but back when this one arrived he was one of the "Undiscovered Elements" newcomers who got the nod for their first card appearances and first autographs. Elliott, the son of Hall of Famer and former Cup champ Bill, was just 15 at the time. He signed two cards in this release -- a standard limited to 225 copies and a red-ink version limited to 25. Atop this, he didn't have any other ink until 2014 when he arrived with a hot start that included a pair of NASCAR victories before he had even graduated from high school. At that time, his autos were easy $100 bills and people paid as much as $500 for the Red. They've settled down now -- and he's got plenty of ink since -- but these are still the first and among the most-unique cards he'll ever have. (There's a Rookie Card in the standard set, too.) There are plenty of other highlights here but this one's the closest thing to awesome ... at least that's what some guy named Bill from Dawsonville said.

Keep reading for more from this weekend's big wave.

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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: 2017 Playoff NFL cards (retail premium box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 8
Cards per box: 80
Base set completion: 48 of 200 (21 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards: Julio Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, Jared Goff, David Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Jameis Winston, Randall Cunningham, Jim Kelly, Dan Fouts, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino, Bo Jackson, Calvin Johnson, Gale Sayers, Len Dawson, Eddie George, Peyton Manning, Jim Brown, Ray Lewis

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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: Collectors react to 2018 Bowman preview, big pulls from new brands like Flawless and debating Corey Kluber's Hall of Fame potential as we head into the weekend.

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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: 2017 Playoff football cards (hanger box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 60
Base set completion: 42 of 200 (21 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards: Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., Carson Wentz, Tom Brady, Marshall Faulk, Fran Tarkenton, Deion Sanders, Fred Biletnikoff, Michael Irvin, Steve Largent, Troy Aikman, Jerry Rice, Brett Favre, Howie Long

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 9.

The box: 2001 Fleer Tradition NFL blaster
The cost now: $12
The cost then: $13.99

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Want to collect someone who's very affordable and relatively solid on the field?

Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn made a case for himself on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys when he did something that's only been equaled or topped by three other players since 1982 when the sack became an official NFL stat. He had six sacks of Dak Prescott -- just one short of the NFL record -- and he wasn't boisterous about the big game afterward.

“I only have one move and it worked,” Clayborn told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I play the same way every game and it lucked out for me today."

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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: Checking out Jared Goff cardboard, big NFL breaks, pondering Terry Crews football cards & plenty more.

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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 Panini Prizm football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for all formats)

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 24
Base set completion: 
16 of 200 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Julio Jones, Andrew Luck, Blake Bortles, Tyrod Taylor, Kirk Cousins, Davante Adams, Carson Palmer

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What: 2017 Panini Limited football cards
Arrives: Jan. 10
Box basics: Two autographs and one memorabilia card per three-pack box (15 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What's buzz-worthy: Limited returns with an emphasis on young stars with cards spotlighting draft night -- Draft Day Signature Booklets with pieces of the jersey that the player held on stage -- and more.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 5 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. (And this wave was so big that there could easily be five more ... check it out.)

2016 Panini Absolute Football retail Premium Box
At this sale price, this one is definitely worth checking out since last year's rookie crop is stacked and this one includes two exclusive hits -- one blue auto and one blue memorabilia card -- in every box. This one is a simple retail take on a memorabilia-focused favorite of mine and there could be even more retail-only colors found in boxes, too. If those are big names such as Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott -- or any of the other newcomers that are making a mark -- you're way ahead with this price. Either way, it's a fun rip -- and you can grab it by the case, too. 

Keep reading for a few more picks among this newest wave.

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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 breaks as we ready for the weekend.

Continue reading →

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 breaks as we work off a day of new-product arrivals.

Continue reading →

If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 4 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.

2016 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball hobby box
You may not recognize the uniforms here but they're creative -- and wearing them are names you should know with guys like Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins on the checklist. The crop of players here is pretty strong and so is the signers list in a product that takes the 1967 Topps design back to the minor leagues. Atop the signers list that includes Dansby Swanson, Andrew Benintendi, Alex Bregman, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout for starters, they're all on-card autographs here. A couple of boxes should get you a basic base set and a number of the inserts that this one includes. It's a simple but fun break and you can see a sample box here.

Keep reading for four more picks ...

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