The Very Best Sports Card Releases In June 2023

June is another reasonably quiet month from Topps, without many noteworthy licensed baseball releases hitting the market, but Panini is continuing to trickle out big NBA and NFL releases as the respective seasons wrap up and move further into the rearview. 

As always, here are the CardLines pick for cards to watch in June 2023. And, also as always, a feature on this list doesn’t mean it’s a must-buy. We’re sharing honest thoughts on all products. 

Here are the Cardlines picks for releases to watch in June. But please note: the release schedules are very fluid and move frequently. These dates are not guaranteed (and with so many releases tentatively scheduled for June, it’s a safe bet many of these will not release this month).

Noteworthy Sports Card releases for June

2022/23 Panini Donruss Optic Football (06/1)

After several delays, Optic Football is finally ready to hit shelves. You can prep for this big release by reading our full guide to the 2022 product, right here. Optic Football is pre-ordering for about $575.

Apart from the price, though, most of the description above remains the same: 20 packs of 4 cards, 1 auto, 10 parallels, etc. While this isn’t a great rookie class, it is a great product—one we considered a Top 10 football product to invest in. 

Shop for 2022/23 Donruss Optic Football on eBay

 2022/23 Bowman University Chrome Basketball (06/02)

Bowman University Chrome Basketball is going to start whetting our appetitive for both Bowman Chrome basketball cards, which should make a licensed return in the next few years, and more Victor Wembanyama.

We discussed this product at length in our full guide, along with breaking down some dos and don’ts of investing in Victor Wembanyama.  This product, which is pre-ordering for $220, includes fully licensed Mets92 cards of Wembanyama,

Each box contains 2 autographs, 1 chrome shimmer parallel, 4 refractor cards, 2 colored parallels/image variations, and more. 

Shop for 2022-23 Bowman University Chrome Basketball

2023 Topps Series 2 Baseball (06/07)

Topps Series 2 is the second leg of the annual Topps trilogy, following behind Series 1 and before Update. The configuration is exactly what we’ve grown accustomed to: hobby boxes are selling for $95 and include 24 packs of 14 cards with 1 auto or relic, and 1 silver pack, not to mention tons of rookies.

Or, if you’re looking for something bigger,  Jumbo boxes are selling for $200 and contain 10 packs of 46 cards, 1 autograph or relic, 2 silver packs, 1 hobby-exclusive manufactured item, and 1 box loader.

Note that this is a pretty significant step backward from last year’s Jumbo boxes, which guarantee an autograph and two relic cards. This year, we have no auto guarantee and instead, get a manufactured patch. Woo. Good deal.

Shop for 2023 Topps Series 2 boxes on eBay

2022/23 Panini Select FIFA Soccer  (06/09)

Select returns to soccer once again with a FIFA Soccer release that featured the 20 national teams. True to form, this Select release launches cards in 3 tiers: Terrace, Mezzanine, Field Level.

These cards all have a base set and a rainbow of parallels to accompany them. There are also four unique SSPs in this year’s Select: Stained Glass, Artistic Impressions, Visionary and Team Badges. Look for one of each per case.

While we don’t have a pre-order price for this product yet, we know that each box should contain 2 autos or memorabilia cards, 9 unnumbered base parallels, 5 numbered base parallels, and 60 total cards. 

2022 Panini Select Football (06/14)

Select is usually a late-season release, but the fact that it’s coming out closer to the 2023 season than the 2022 season is exhausting. Thankfully, we’ll have some exciting 2023 quarterback prospects to turn all our attention to before this one drops.

That said, the boxes are pre-selling for $600 and contain 2 autographs, 1 memorabilia, 10 silver prizms, 5 other prizms, and each case has 1 Zebra parallel if you’re feeling really lucky.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about this box, as Panini notes, is the chance to “Look for XRC Mystery Redemptions which will feature some of the first cards of the 2023 NFL Draft picks!” The best mysteries are the ones that are already solved as soon as you get them. Go Panini!

Shop for 2022 Panini Select Football hobby boxes on eBay

2022 Panini Encased Football (06/21)

Feeling risky? Encased is the product for you.

Each $575 box contains 5 cards: 1 encased autograph, 1 additional auto, 2 memorabilia cards, and a base/parallel. At over $100/card, you better hope that you hit a good rookie autograph, which will be difficult considering there aren’t any good rookies. (Okay, joking aside, none of the 2022 rookies save Kenny Pickett seem poised to hold any long-term value).

True to the name, one of the autos comes encased in a one-touch holder with a security sticker, but this feels a bit gimmicky. How hard is it to have a one-touch on hand for big autos? Not very, which ironically also how interested I am in this product. 

Shop for 2022 Panini Encased Football boxes on eBay

2022 Panini Immaculate Soccer (06/22)

Immaculate Soccer is one of the most high-end soccer releases every year. While we don’t have a price yet, we know that it includes 5 autographs or memorabilia cards plus 2 base cards per 7-card box. Previous years sell for about $1500, so that’s a fair estimate for release day price, here.

With the 2022 set, the big money will be found in autographs. Per Panini, “Look for an autograph checklist that features the cream of the crop, including Christian Pulisic, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé! Retired players on the autograph list include the likes of Kaká, Andrea Pirlo, as well as David Beckham!”

This product also includes a lot of booklet cards, which are just as exciting as mowing your yard. Still, very solid soccer product. Just a very expensive rip for a 7-card box. 

2022 Panini National Treasures Football (06/23)

National Treasures is typically a late-season release, so a mid-summer drop for the popular high-end product isn’t too out of the ordinary (it takes a very long time to make 8-card boxes, of course).

Each box is pre-ordering for $2,450 and contains 6 autographs or memorabilia cards, 1 base/insert, and 1 parallel. It’s a big dice roll, but it’s also a pretty low asking price for National Treasures — the 2020 box is selling for about $9,000 at the time of writing this, so do with that as you will.

Shop for 2022 Panini National Treasures Football box

 
2022/23 Panini Select Basketball (06/28)

Select Basketball is set to drop on June 28th at a surprisingly low price of $425. Each box contains 12 packs of 5 cards and 3 autographs or memorabilia. The three different tiers are Concourse, Premier and Courtside — same as always — and they each have accompanying parallels to chase.

With a rookie class of Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren (tbd), Jalen Williams, and more, this is a pretty deep rookie class for the release price point.

In fact, 2022 Select NFL is selling for $150 more, and I’d much rather have the NBA rookies for 2022 than the NFL, straight up. Consider this when checking out the product. It might be one of the best buys of this month. 

Shop for 2022-23 Panini Select Basketball hobby boxes on eBay

What are you looking forward to ripping or holding? 

There are some big releases dropping in June and we’ve got our eye on several. Let us know what you’re most excited about on Twitter @card_lines, and subscribe to our free newsletter right here. Twice a week, we’re bringing exclusive hobby news, offers and tips straight to your inbox.