Topps Football has been around so long that it is the first product that comes to mind when many people think of football cards. The 2007 set borrows the sharp black-bordered design from 2007 Topps Baseball while serving up a number of fun, collectible elements.
Hobby boxes of 2007 Topps Football (like the one used in this review) hold 36 packs of nine cards each. Jumbo boxes are also available with 10 packs of 47 cards each, and they contain two memorabilia or autographed cards on average for a little less than twice the price of regular hobby boxes.
Base Cards and Parallels
A total of 440 base cards get black borders for 2007 with team color squares in each corner, silver foil player and team info and a facsimile signature of the pictured player. Card backs are full color and contain some of the most in-depth stats of any football product.
Veterans appear on the first 285 cards, followed by 110 2007 rookies. The set is capped off by 10 League Leaders, 20 All-Pros, 12 Postseason Highlights and cards for the League MVP and Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.
All of the base cards get three levels of parallels with different colored borders: Copper (numbered to 2007), Gold (hobby exclusive and #'d to 52) and Platinum (1-of-1). There is also a First Edition parallel which keeps the black borders but adds a silver foil stamp to distinguish it from a regular card.
A sample hobby box produced 288 base cards (including 72 rookies) along with five Copper parallels and a single First Edition.
Insert Cards
As usual, Topps Football is packed with inserts to provide a little something extra in each pack. Perennial favorites Own the Game and Hobby Masters celebrate the NFL's top players, while Generation Now is a 100-card set that looks at what young players in the league have already accomplished.
Brett Favre gets his own set that follows his chase for the career passing TD mark, aptly titled Flight to 420. Each card captures a different one of Favre's touchdowns, with the first 200 in this set and the remaining cards saved for 2008 Topps Football. Autographed versions are numbered to Favre's TD total for the particular season in which the pictured TD occurred.
Running Back Royalty cards pair today's top runner, LaDainian Tomlinson, with ten great backs from years past. Rare dual-signed versions include cut signatures from Walter Payton.
Finally, a few more inserts celebrate recent accomplishments. Peyton Manning gets a Ring of Honor card to continue the long-running set of Super Bowl MVPs, and Hall of Fame cards commemorate the induction of six players for 2007, including Thurman Thomas and Michael Irvin.
The About.com sample box turned up an insert card in almost every pack. There were 30 in all: nine Generation Now, six Flight to 420, four each of Own the Game and Hobby Masters, three each from Hall of Fame and Running Back Royalty and the lone Ring of Honor.
Relic and Autographed Cards
Topps once again puts its relationships with the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl to good use for its relic cards (Topps' name for memorabilia cards). Super Bowl XLI is represented by both Game Breakers (with pieces of the end zone pylons) and Stat Breakers (with pieces of game-used footballs) as well as a Super Bowl MVP Game Ball Relic for Peyton Manning.
All-Pro Relics present game-worn swatches from the 2007 Pro Bowl, with patch versions and In The Name versions that feature an entire letter from the nameplate of a Pro Bowl jersey.
League Leaders Relics are game-worn cards from the top performers of the 2006 season, and Topps Performance Highlight Relics showcase standout individual efforts.
Along with signed versions of many of the inserts from the previous sections, Topps Football has a pair of stand-alone autograph sets. 2007 Signature Series Autographs are the first cards in a continuity series that will run through various 2007 Topps football products, featuring a mix of rookies, stars and legends. Topps Performance Highlights Autographs are the autographed counterparts to their relic brethren.
Though they are tough pulls, NFL Rookie Premiere Autographs are also back, with cards manufactured and signed by rookies at the photo shoot in California earlier in 2007. The cards range from single to quad autographs and usually go for big money on the secondary market.
Even with all of the possibilities, regular hobby boxes are not guaranteed to have a relic or autograph, and indeed, my sample box did not yield any.
The Last Word
When it comes to low-end football cards, you want them to be attractive, fun to open, give you a puncher's chance at a nice autograph or memorabilia card and make it realistic to assemble the entire set. 2007 Topps Football has all of those qualities, and should prove popular with collectors.
Perhaps the black borders won't suit every collector's taste, but that should be the only thing that prevents you from busting packs or boxes of Topps Football if you're looking for an affordable football card set for 2007.
