Cole Benz

Cole Benz

After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz

Flawless was first released in 2014 and has been the premier product for NFL rookie patch autographed cards ever since. The 2025 set comes out soon and could be the last with NFL logos and team names as Fanatics takes over the licenses in April.

Cole Benz
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Jun 13, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Former Kansas City Royals player Alex Gordon speaks during his hall of fame induction ceremony prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Alex Gordon has one of the most famous rookie cards that was never supposed to exist. Drafted in 2006, Topps printed and distributed a rookie card of Gordon that year, only to realize they were breaking their own criteria, and halted production.

Cole Benz
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