2024 Photogenic Football: A Release Worth Developing Or A Pass That Makes Us Shutter?

The Panini Photogenic Football franchise makes its debut for the 2024 season, bringing a photography-centric approach to football card collecting.

Known for its emphasis on high-quality imagery and design, this inaugural football release offers collectors a blend of stunning visuals and a variety of inserts.

But does this product live up to the anticipation, or does it fall short in delivering value to collectors?

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay

An introduction to 2024 Panini Photogenic Football

Scheduled for release on February 5, 2025, at a price point of $399 per hobby box, Panini Photogenic provides collectors with a 10-pack configuration, containing 5 cards per pack.

Each box promises one autograph, five rookie cards, four parallels, and ten inserts. The focus on high-quality photography and design sets this product apart from other releases.

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay

A few red flags from 2024 Photogenic

Like every 2024 Panini football product, a few caveats come with 2024 Photogenic football.

As I’ve mentioned in other 2024 product previews, many of the top 2024 draft picks are working exclusively with Fanatics on autographs: Caleb Williams, AD Mitchell, Malik Nabers, Brendan Rice, Jayden Daniels, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, Rome Odunze, and Drake Maye, to name a few.

These athletes agreed to no more autos with Panini, but they could still have some in this set. (Rome Odunze seems to).

That said, this set doesn’t drive value almost entirely from autographs. Or, in other words, having rookie parallel potential means it has a bit higher floor.

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay

A breakdown of the cards in 2024 Photogenic Football

If you’re ripping a box of 2024 Photogenic Football, here’s what to expect.

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay

The base set and parallels 

The base set features a 200-card lineup, including both vertical and horizontal images that showcase the NFL’s top talent throughout history, as well as the 2024 rookie class.

The design emphasizes full-bleed photography with minimalistic design elements, allowing the images to take center stage. Parallels add a layer of chase for collectors, though specific details on the types of parallels were not provided.

Autographs

Each hobby box delivers one autograph on average. The set includes various autograph subsets, such as Instants, which draw inspiration from Polaroid photos, and Rookie Portraits Signatures, offering collectors a chance to obtain signatures from the 2024 rookie class.

However, the absence of autographs from top rookies due to exclusive agreements with other companies may impact the overall appeal of the autograph checklist.

Inserts

In addition to autographs, 2024 Photogenic offers a variety of inserts. Collectors can find ten inserts per box, featuring sets like Progressions, Rookie Pix, Troops Tribute, For the Cure, Draft Snapshots, Rookie Introductions, and A Different View.

Additionally, ultra-rare inserts such as In-Motion, Avatars, and The Shoe Game provide added chase elements for collectors seeking rare and unique cards.

Investing in sealed boxes of 2024 Photogenic Football

Disclaimer: at this point, with all the unknowns and considering it’s the first release of its kind, it’s difficult to figure out how to even think about investing in this product. 

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay

There’s a WWE and an NBA version of this product – the latter of which is probably the best comp for the NFL.

Those boxes have aged pretty well, honestly. 2021-22 Photogenic NBA Hobby is selling for about $500 while 2022-23 is selling for almost $600. That said, these were exclusive Panini Online releases, so that added scarcity might add some extra value. 

All that said, $400 for this box doesn’t feel outlandish, but the same price can buy a more traditional, longer-running set like Donruss. If I had to pick between Photogenic and Donurss at the same price, I’d go with Donruss – there’s something about legacy that helps cards maintain value and Dopnruss has been making NFL cards since 2016. 

But if you like the selling points of Photogenic and think it’s limited-release formats could help it age, then by all means, grab a box (and that’s something I rarely say!).

Investing in singles of NFL Photogenic

In the case of 2024 Photogenic, the only cards to consider are the rookie cards. If you can find a rookie parallel at a decent price (perhaps buy raw and get it graded?), that will be as good as you can get when it comes to a long-term hold.

The 2024 rookie class is full of potential – one of the best we’ve seen in the last decade – so this product might not be a bad long-term hold. 

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay

In conclusion: Should you rip, hold or pass on 2024 Photogenic Football?

So, is 2024 Photogenic Football worth your investment? 

…Maybe? 

I know that’s not exactly a glowing endorsement, but usually this is where I suggest completely avoiding the product, so take my “I’m not sure” as at least more promising endorsement than I usually hand out.

I don’t like that there are no rookie autographs of most of the top players, but it’s still licensed cards of a deep rookie class and a less widespread release. That alone has some appeal.

Share your thoughts on 2024 Photogenic or show us your hits on X @card_lines. We also have a newsletter, sent twice a week. Subscribe to it right here. We’re working hard on our YouTube, too! Check it out right here.

Shop for 2024 Photogenic Football boxes on eBay