These new card releases hit market just in time for National Sports Collectors Convention

Although the sports card collecting world will be laser focused on the 45th National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago July 30-Aug 3, that doesn't mean the new release calendar takes a vacation.

Here’s a few products released prior to or aorund The National to give collectors reasons to blow part of their NSCC budget.

During the first week of July, one of the most anticipated high-end releases each year is Panini Immaculate Football, which again delivers high-quality memorabilia, autographs and a mix of other relics and signature combos.

Each hobby box contains just one base card or parallel, so finding even a base card of your favorite NFL star can be challenging.

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Immaculate cases consist of six boxes. Each box holds one incredibly important six-card pack.

Rookie Patch Autos are key components of every Immaculate Football release. These stunning RPAs are some of the most attractive in the hobby with their elegant, clean, crisp design coupled with a multicolor patch, bold signature, and a great image. These pieces are cornerstone rookie cards each and every season.

We would be remiss if we didn't mention that many of the key rookies, including all of the top quarterbacks, will be absent from autographs in this product.

But the Premium Patch Autographs insert keeps the high-end standard the standard. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would happily agree.

Immaculate Moments Signatures is another great insert, highlighting key moments from the careers of star players with sharp on-card autographs.

Immaculate returns with some pro wrestling-style tag-team action (not really) with Immaculate Dual Autographs.

Also look for the Immaculate HOF Jerseys featuring jersey swatches of some of the most iconic Pro Football Hall of Famers found in Canton.

Immaculate always offers some of the top high-end memorabilia hits, like Rookie Gloves and 1-of-1 Immaculate Dual NFL Shields.

Expect to pay around $1,000 per box or about $5,000 per case. That's a nice chunk of your NSCC budget.

2024-25 DONRUSS OPTIC BASKETBALL

One of the most well-received mid-tier products each season, 2024-25 Donruss Optic Basketball hit the court in July, just in time for The National.

A Panini product licensed by the NBA, the 300-card base set features 225 veterans, 50 retired legends, and 50 of the iconic Rated Rookies.

Expect a wide range of color in parallels such as Jazz (not Utah), Photon, Aqua, all the way down to 1-of-1 Gold Vinyl parallels.

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Other than the extremely limited parallels, the biggest calling cards are the Rated Rookie Signatures. These important hits offer the same look as the base cards but with an autograph and their own special parallels exclusive to Optic.

Rated Rookies aren't the only autographs collectors can find. Keep a lookout for eye-catching Opti-Graphs and the sharp Rookie Dual Signatures.

Many of the familiar Donruss and Optic inserts are back, such as Elite Dominators, Lights Out, Net Marvels, Red Hot Rookies, Rising Suns, and the classic and long-running The Rookies, which all have various colorful parallels to go with the base version. 

Rare inserts such as Slammys return. Some of the more unique inserts are Alter Ego, a play on the featured player's nickname. Look no further than Anthony Edwards grabbing a rebound with a number of ants crawling on rocks and grass in the background. 

Collectors also will be happy that the wildly popular Downtown cards are back as a hobby exclusive this go round.

Hobby cases consist of 12 boxes. Each hobby box consists of 20 packs with only four cards per pack. Each hobby box promises one autograph, nine inserts and 11 parallels on average.

What better product to feature leading up to The National than one that pays homage to America's Pastime? Grab me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, and an old-timey, romanticized card release. 

Panini's Boys of Summer has a full lineup of autographs from baseball's biggest prospects and retired stars of the past. Without an official license, you won't find any current players in this product.

Each hobby box is a single pack of eight cards, including three signatures and one memorabilia card. That's a pretty full lineup top to bottom.

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One of the biggest draws of the set is the Jumbo Material Signatures. All the cards in this prospect- and rookie-heavy set feature on-card autos with beautiful, full-color, oversized swatches. Keep an eye out for some of the hottest prospects in the game, such as the Washington Nationals Dylan Crews.

Collectors also will find autograph/memorabilia insert sets such as Prospect Material Signatures and Jumbo Swatch Signature booklets. Panini BOS does their best to create a vintage and classy feel teamed up with modern ballplayers. These are great examples of that design.

The Jumbo Acetate Signatures is just that, offering up a large, clear piece of plastic for the players to scribble their John Hancock on. Some collectors are fans of the acetate signatures cards but just as many would rather have an on-card sig or even a sticker, as the acetate design tends to fade or get discolored. 

An interesting series of inserts is the Baseball Signatures, Leather Signatures and Lumber Signatures, as these names are naturally based on the material used for the autograph.

The Fan Favorites Signatures set features some great sigs of popular players from the past, including the likes of Boston Red Sox enigmatic star Manny Ramirez.

Pastime Materials is a relic offering that brings some of the best retired legends back to our collective collectors' consciousness.

Although unlicensed, this set has a great look and feel that hearkens back to purer baseball card designs of the past.

Making a fastbreak into the market in June was the highly anticipated return of Topps Chrome Basketball, a brand with as much staying power and popularity as any in the hobby.

But the 2024-25 Topps Chrome set came close to fouling out of the game last year. Without an official NBA license (which activates in October), collectors still won't find well-known team logos, insignias or graphics on the cards this year.

Overall, the cards are beautifully designed and Fanatics does a good job trying to work around the license by putting out sharp designs, fun inserts, and collectible parallels.

Hobby cases consist of 12 boxes. Each box has 12 packs with eight cards per pack.

This will be Topps first basketball set of the season, and although the rookie class is one of the weakest in recent memory, you can always hold out hope for future success from these young cats.

The 200-card base will feature 50 rookies.

The refractor technology was made popular by Topps on the high-end products back in the day, and collectors can expect a wide range of refractors in this product, including 30 different versions for every base card.

Expect an autograph-heavy product as each hobby box offers two autos. The autographs come in eight different sets, including Topps Chrome Autographs, Topps Certified Autograph Issue, Rookies, Sky-light Signatures, Next Stop Signatures, and 1973 Topps Autographs. A few of these sets are blaster box and mega box exclusives.

The starting lineup for inserts is strong, including short prints such as Advisory, Dippers, Helix, Let's Go!, Radiating Rookies, Rock Stars, Ultra Violet All Stars, among others.

As far as some lower-end inserts, collectors can easily find the retail-only Fresh Start, Show and Tell, Countdown Complete, Film Study, and Ball of Duty.

Although the Topps Chrome name carries much weight, the unlicensed product and weak rookie class could mean slower sales for this version of the legendary line.