2025 Absolute Football Release Preview

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Of all of the brands that Panini puts out each calendar year for the sport of Football, Absolute is one of the releases that collectors tend to gravitate towards. This is mainly because of it's chase elements, mainly inserts that have become a hobby staple. With a limited number of cards per box, and hits in high demand, this product will be taking center stage once it releases on October 31st. Ahead of that date, here is what collectors need to know about the product.
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Box Breakdown
Hobby boxes this year will contain 15 total cards. 5 packs are in each box, with 3 card falling in each pack. The cards do fit into the premium, high end spectrum of the hobby, so the cards located in a pack could hold some value, depending on the player and type. When it comes to hits, 3 autographs and 2 memorbilia cards will be found on average. If collectors are interested in a case, 12 boxes will be included in that format. Base cards and parallels also can be obtain in a box opening, with numerous variations to chase. This includes colors like Purple Rain (/190), Spectrum Gold (/10), and Black Galaxy, which is a 1 of 1.

Inserts
The biggest insert chase of the entire product will be of no surpise to anyone who has been in the hobby for a number of years, and that is the KABOOM! insert. In this year's edition, both horizontal and vertical versions of the insert can be found. New this year are Super Bowl Kabooms, which feature players who were in/won the Super Bowl, with the respective logo in the bottom of the card. Gold Parallels of the insert also return this year, and will be sure to bring a good amount of money on the open market.

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Autographs/Relics
There will be plenty of autographs and relics that collectors will be seeking. Autographs of current and former NFL players can be found, including: Terry McLaurin, Drew Brees, Aaron Donald, and Patrick Mahomes II. Certain rookies will also have autographs, such as Ashton Jeanty, Travis Hunter, and Shedeur Sanders. Notable autograph subsets this year include: Absolute Legends Signatures, Historical Duals Autographs, and Iconic Ink.

Relics have always been a staple in Absolute, even back to the days when the product was called Absolute Memorabilia. In the lineage, some of the key relic sets have stuck around even to this day, such as Tools of the Trade and Ground Hoggs. The more modern edition in this year's release is the Absolute Heroes subset, which features a comic book style design with the player and a patch.

Live Selling
Upon release, case and box breaks of Absolute Football will be taking place from a variety of sellers on eBay Live. BWA Sports and Trading Cards will be going after the KABOOM insert at 8 PM on Friday, October 31st. 528breaks will also be hosting an event at that same time. Both of these breaks will be done in the Sudden Victory format, with spots starting at $1, and ending once the timer expires. For collectors who are looking for the KABOOM insert, this could be a potential value opportunity to chase the rare insert. Collectors after specific teams or players could also look to get in on the breaks as well.

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2025 Absolute Football is gathering excitement among collectors, and it looks to be a strong release. This is in part due to the inserts in the product, but also due to autographs, relics, and parallels. Online breaks will allow collectors a chance to get their hands on the product on release day, which is slated to be Friday, October 31st.

Dylan is a collector based in Central Pennsylvania, and sports fan rooting for the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Pirates, and LA Lakers. He is currently attempting to collect a complete run of Topps flagship sets across football, baseball, and basketball. He is passionate about the history of the hobby including its continual growth and evolution.