The Most Valuable Panini Football Cards & The Sets That Define Them
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Panini became the sole company with the rights to produce officially licensed NFL cards in 2009. A company from Italy that was well known for making soccer stickers, Panini totally revolutionized football cards. The introduction of Prizm in 2012, iconic inserts like Downtowns and Kabooms, an explosion of parallels, and some super high end products like National Treasures and Flawless changed sports cards forever.
However, it now seems likely that Panini will lose its exclusive NFL license for football cards in the near future. While ongoing lawsuits still need to be resolved, most collectors expect that Topps (Fanatics) will soon control the football card market, leaving Panini to produce only unlicensed football cards.
Unlicensed cards are almost always less desirable than licensed products. Panini will face an uphill battle in the football card market. The bigger question is how this shift will impact the value and perception of their older licensed cards going forward.
Most Panini football cards produced between 2009 and 2025 are likely to lose relevance in the market, but many of the top-end "iconic" cards should stand the test of time. This article will highlight the most valuable Panini football cards from the most iconic sets and the impact they've had on the hobby.
National Treasures: Patrick Mahomes 2017 #161 Rookie Patch Auto (RPA) - (#1/1) BGS 8.5
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Price: $4,300,000
Card Information: This is the most expensive football card ever sold. Why did it sell for so much? The $4.3 million dollar purchase happened in a private sale in 2021 at the peak of the Covid card-market boom. It is undisputedly the best football card of Mahomes, a player some believe can eclipse Tom Brady as the greatest QB ever. It is the only one of its kind in existence, it has the NFL Shield logo (which aways demands a huge premium), and it is a rookie patch auto (RPA) for the super high-end brand, National Treasures.
Set Information: National Treasures is a very expensive product and collectors’ go-to for RPAs. The typical cost of a hobby box is $2,500-$5,000, which only includes 10 cards.
Set Runners-Up:
Justin Herbert 2020 Platinum NFL Shield RPA (#1/1) BGS 8.5 ($1,800,000)
Joe Burrow 2020 Platinum NFL Shield RPA (#1/1) ($1,700,000)
Flawless: Patrick Mahomes 2017 NFL Shield RPA (#1/1) - BG 7.5
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Price: $312,000
Card Information: This is another Mahomes RPA with an NFL Shield logo patch. Why did it sell for so much less than the similar National Treasures version? They both sold in 2021, but the National Treasures card sold later in the year, which was closer to the absolute apex of the card market. Additionally, the Flawless card is a BGS 7.5, one grade lower than the NT card. Even a half-grade can significantly impact a card’s value in the high end market. Finally, National Treaures has better brand perception and their cards are king in the RPA hierarchy.
Set Information: Flawless is the most expensive Panini football product. Hobby boxes can range from $10,000 to $20,000. This limited product, making its football card debut in 2015, emphasizes rarity and luxury features like rubies, patch autos, and large booklet cards with over-sized patches.
Set Runners-Up:
Justin Herbert 2020 Shield Signatures RPA (#1/1) - PSA 8 ($229,200)
Joe Burrow 2020 Shield Signatures RPA (#1/1) - PSA 6 ($205,200)
Prizm- Justin Herbert 2020 #325 Black Finite 1/1 BGS 9
Price: $1,100,000
Card Information: Even without an auto or a patch, this ‘one of one’ Herbert card has a huge price tag. Herbert is a fine player, but the million-dollar card sale is symbolic of the fact that hype and potential are usually more important than on-field performance when it comes to sports cards prices. (For comparison, the most expensive Peyton Manning card sold for $100,000.)
Set Information: Debuting in 2012, Prizm is the dominant flagship product for Panini football cards. The product is well known for parallel variety. Black 1/1s are the rarest and most expensive. Gold vynal, “true” golds, and silvers are other very sought after paralells. An excellent paralell card can be found in every price range, making this the most popular football set.
Set Runner-Up:
Patrick Mahomes Gold Vinyl Prizm #269 (#3/5) PSA 10 ($676,500)
Downtown- Joe Burrow 2020 Donruss Optic Downtown Gold Vinyl Rookie Card (#1/1) - BGS 7.5
Price: $108,000
Card Information: This one-of-a-kind Burrow is the reigning king of the Downtowns, and it checks a lot of boxes. It is a rookie card, it is a 1/1, it is the uber-popular Gold Vinyel paralell, it has fan-favorite “Joe Cool”, and it has one of the best Downtown designs ever with two Bengal Tigers as part of a unique background.
Set Information: Downtowns are technically a subset or insert, but they are arguably the most popular cards in the current sports card hobby. At any sports card show, these cards consistently generate the most buzz among younger collectors. The cool designs of these inserts have made these the ultimate chase cards since 2018 (they debuted in basketball card packs in 2016).
Set Runners-Up:
Jayden Daniels 2024 Donruss Optic Downtown Gold BGS Black Label /10 ($74,378)
Tom Brady 2018 Donruss Optic Downtown Gold Vinyl 1/1 #1 BGS 9.5 ($66,000)
KABOOM!: Tom Brady 2021 Panini Absolute KABOOM! (#1/1) - PSA 8
Price: $188,400
Card Information: It makes sense that a 1/1 card of the football GOAT in one of the most iconic insert subsets demanded a very high price tag. The fact that Brady is wearing a Patriots jersey instead of a Bucs one makes this even more desirable.
Set Information: The visually striking KABOOMs are the closest rivals to Downtowns in the football card insert world. The comic-book inspired designs have made these an ultimate chase card. These have been mega popular in basketball cards since 2013, and they made their football card debut in 2018.
Set Runners-Up:
Tom Brady 2021 Panini Absolute Kaboom! Gold #K24 Tom /10 PSA 10 ($123,556)
Tom Brady 2018 Panini Kaboom! Gold Tom Brady 10/10 PSA 9 ($120,000)
David is a collector based in Georgia and a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees, New York Giants, and New York Knicks. He is an avid sports card collector with a strong passion for vintage baseball cards and vintage on-card autographs. David enjoys obtaining autographs through the mail and loves connecting with other knowledgeable collectors to discuss the history and evolution of the hobby. He also previously wrote about the New York Giants for GMENHQ.com