The Ultimate Guide To Mega Boxes

When done correctly, the Mega Box is a tremendously valuable release. It allows collectors access to big hits and exclusive cards worthy of a hobby box without the prohibitive cost.

First, this article will look at all the major Mega Box releases. Then, we will dissect their exclusives and overall value. Finally, read our ultimate guide to Mega Box releases for more.

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What is a Mega Box?

The Mega Box is not one of the classic retail formats. Instead, they are the product of the increased popularity of hobby boxes and high-end products in recent years. The general concept is to market these boxes to retail crowds at a competitive price while including one or more hobby-type guaranteed hits.

Perhaps the most popular one across the sports is the Bowman Baseball version released by Topps. However, the most significant number of Mega Box releases are in the various Panini football releases. They seem to have at least dabbled in releasing Mega Boxes for all of the significant football lines.

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What you can expect with a Mega Box?

Every product has a different concept for its Mega Boxes. And, of course, most releases do not have one at all. So instead, it is particular releases that feature them.

There are generally two categories of Mega Box worth pursuing. The first includes some guaranteed coveted hit that also appears in the hobby releases. The second category of collectible boxes include those with a Mega Box exclusive hit.

Of course, the ideal Mega Box would have both. But usually, the card companies simply don’t love us that much.

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The biggest Mega Boxes in the hobby

Since the introduction of Mega Boxes to retail stores less than a decade ago, most of the significant sports releases have at least tried the format.

We will list the most influential and essential of these releases and analyze their pros and cons. But, of course, I had to be somewhat selective.

So, I did not include Mega Boxes from smaller companies and unlicensed products. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good deals or worth nothing. But I couldn’t cover everything.

What are Bowman Mega Boxes like?

The Prize: Mojo Refractors

The Numbers: 4 packs per box, 10 cards per pack. Two exclusive 5-card chrome packs totaling 50 trading cards per Box. 

Perhaps the most popular Mega Box product of all is the Bowman version. The Mega Box has undoubtedly become the go-to format for the baseball prospect line. And the reason is, of course, the Mojo Refractors. You can’t get these babies anywhere else, and they are among the most beloved (and valuable) Bowman cards.

One of the coolest things about Bowman Mega Boxes is that their wax value appears to consistently increase. Even when the crop of prospects isn’t that impressive, people love the Bowman version so much that they will pay a premium for them.

However, the prices have decreased quite a bit since we last wrote about Bowman Mega Boxes in May 2022. But that has more to do with the normalization of the market than the product itself.

Singles value

So, these Mega Boxes’ biggest draw is the beloved Mojo Refractors. They look great. But how much are they worth as singles? We took a look.

It’s easy to see why the Mojo Refractors are so popular. They have a great value on the market for unproven prospects and guys with a reputation in “The Show.” And even better, they come in low-numbered and auto versions.

It’s clear Topps thinks of these as some of the best and most important cards in the release. They make the purchase of Bowman Mega Boxes a no-brainer.

Panini Chronicles NBA Basketball Mega Boxes

The Prize: Green Ice Parallels

The Numbers: 20 packs per Box, 5 cards per pack, 100 trading cards overall

Chronicles is a bit of a mutt release. It features a lot of inserts and rookies, but most are worth very little. It’s a fun rip for kids and people who enjoy variety. But not really known for garnering significant value. Panini launched the Chronicles NBA Basketball Mega Boxes for the 2019-20 season and ran with it the following season as well. Here is the market value for the releases from both years.

The 2019-20 Mega Box does better than you would expect. Likely because getting a nice amount of Ja Morant rookies is a good thing. But the 2020-21 version is closer in price to what we expect.

Singles Value

We don’t expect much from Chronicles Mega Box exclusive parallels. But having said that, let’s see how the Green Ice Parallels from these boxes do on eBay:

As expected, these cards are not doing great. They are usually included in lots with other worthless parallels if you search for them on eBay. In fairness, though, these are very nice-looking cards. But Panini didn’t go that extra mile to make them stand out from other parallels.

Panini Chronicles Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: There are no Mega Box exclusives in Panini Chronicles Football Draft Picks Mega Boxes

The Numbers: 8 Cards per Pack, 10 Packs per Box, 112 Total Trading Cards

What about Chronicles Football Mega Boxes? Unlike its basketball equivalent, this release has no exclusive Mega Box cards. That is a severe letdown and misjudgment on the part of Panini. And, of course, Chronicles isn’t exactly loaded with quality, to begin with. So, we don’t expect much in terms of value from these boxes. Still, let’s see if they can surprise us:

The 2020 release gives us an idea of what we can expect from a strong rookie class. The Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert rookies bring the value up to $100. And that is probably as high as one of these boxes can go.

Panini Chronicles Football Draft Picks Mega Boxes

The Prize: There are no Mega Box exclusives in Panini Chronicles Football Draft PicksMega Boxes

The Numbers: 8 Cards per Pack, 10 Packs per Box, 112 Total Trading Cards

Guaranteed Cards in Last Years Box:

• No cards are guaranteed, but on average, they promise one auto per Box.

We can expect these boxes to perform lower than their professional equivalents. But let’s see how they do on the resell market:

Considering this is a college uniform product, the resale value isn’t bad at all.

Topps Chrome Mega Boxes

The Prize: X-Fractor Parallels

The Numbers: 10 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack, 50 Total Trading Cards 

As we know, the big Topps Mega Boxes everyone chases are the Bowmans. However, the baseball focused (for now) company also released a Topps Chrome version. There is one for the regular release and also a version for Topps Chrome Update. However, aside from a generous helping of 10 X-Fractor Parallels, there are no guaranteed or “on average” hits.So how does that influence the resale value of this retail release? Here are the numbers:

These Mega Boxes do nicely, especially when there is a bumper crop of rookies like in 2018. That bodes well for 2022, which has a couple of potential stars like Wander Franco and Julio Rodriguez (who appears in the Update Mega Boxes).

Singles Value

How much of the value of Topps Chrome Mega Boxes comes from the X-Fractor Parallels?One great advantage Topps has with this Box is that the X-Fractor is a beloved parallel dating back to their basketball days. For example, this LeBron James X-Fractor from 2003 sold for over $15,000. Let’s see how they do on eBay:

The X-Fractor cards are beloved and, if I may add, unobjectively awesome looking. So, when people land a good one, they immediately grade them, and the good ones fetch a nice profit on the open market. So, the fact that Topps is making these exclusive cards a complete 20% of what you will pull from Topps Chrome Mega Boxes is a definite plus and one of the main reasons these boxes do well.

Panini Contenders Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: There are no Mega Box exclusives in Panini Contenders Football.

The Numbers: 5 Cards per Pack, 12 Packs per Box, 60 Total Trading Cards 

This Mega Box has no exclusive cards, which is weird and pretty disappointing. The Panini Contenders Mega Box does make up for that to some extent by offering more cards than any other brand. They do say that, on average, you are likely to hit the following cards:

• 14 Stunning inserts
• 1 Autograph
• 2 Memorabilia cards

Does the lack of guaranteed cards lower the value of boxes? Let’s take a look at how the recent wax fares on eBay:

The value of the Panini Contenders Football Mega Boxes went down dramatically in 2021, which isn’t just because it is recent. It’s also not because of the crop of rookies but because 2021 is a low-floor-high-ceiling class worth an investment.

The big difference is that 2020 had one guaranteed auto and two memorabilia cards (similar to guaranteed cards in previous iterations). Meanwhile, the 2021 one doesn’t guarantee anything, but instead, you can expect the auto and 2 memorabilia cards on average. As we will see, Panini generally tends to dilute the value of the cards available in Mega Boxes.

Panini Donruss Basketball Mega Boxes

The Prize: Holo Teal Laser Parallels

The Numbers: 20 Packs Per Box, 6 Cards Per Pack, 120 Total Trading Cards 

Donruss Basketball is one of the most popular Panini releases, providing a relatively affordable place for basketball collectors to do their thing. And because it’s such a retail-oriented release, it makes good sense to have a Mega Box version of this release. In addition, since Donruss is traditionally a set completist product, it’s also remarkable that the Mega Box includes many cards.

But as we know, Donruss doesn’t usually have the highest wax retail levels. Especially not in comparison to some of the other Panini basketball releases. But Panini launched these boxes very late in the game last season. So what do these Panini Donruss Basketball Mega Boxes go for? Here are the numbers:

Singles Value

It’s still early days. However, these boxes could prove popular in the long term. Let’s see how the Holo Teal Laser Parallels, the exclusive cards in 2021-22 Panini Donruss Basketball Mega Boxes, do on eBay. 

To put it mildly, the Holo Teal Laser Parallels aren’t worth very much. So, if Panini expects these cards to carry the new release, they may be sorely disappointed. And if you look at the Holo Teal Laser Parallels, it’s not hard to see why. They are just another unremarkable Panini parallel.

Panini Illusions Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: 4 Mega Exclusives per Box

The Numbers: 7 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack, 35 Total Trading Cards 

Guaranteed Cards in the Most Recent Box:

• No cards are guaranteed. But each Box has one autograph or memorabilia card per unit.

The Illusions Mega Box has significantly fewer cards than most of its equivalents. It also doesn’t have any guaranteed hits anymore. Although, its 2020 release had oneRookie Sigs Orange Parallel per Box and three Three Trophy Collection Sapphire cards. Has that had an adverse influence on the value of wax? Let’s see:

These are pretty bad numbers. After all, 2020 was a strong year with Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, among others. But the Box performs poorly nonetheless. Moreover, it does far worse than all the other football Mega Boxes from the same year.

Panini NBA Mosaic Mega Boxes

The Prize: Green Fluorescent Prizms and Mosaic Reactive Blue Prizms.

The Numbers: 8 Cards per Pack, 14 Packs per Box, 80 Total Trading Cards 

The NBA Mosaic Mega Boxes contain two forms of cards that are exclusive to the format. The Green Fluorescent Prizms and Mosaic Reactive Blue Prizms. They often also have Silver Prizms, which is a bonus. In addition, they usually include a good amount of guaranteed Prizms, either 8 or 9. They first appeared in stores for the 2019-20 season and have been a staple ever since. But they don’t quite enjoy the popularity of their Bowman equivalents.

Let’s take a look at their value as wax:

Singles Value

The price for the boxes is not too shabby. But how do the exclusive singles from these boxes fare? Here are a few select cards:

These are the most expensive versions of the Panini NBA Mosaic Mega Boxes exclusives I could find on eBay. However, it is notable that none of them are really massive cards. Therefore, you may better get other formats with more Silver Prizms or autos.

Panini Optic Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: Rated Rookies Bronze Parallels

The Numbers: 10 packs, 4 Cards per Pack, 40 Total Trading Cards

Cards Guaranteed In The Most Recent Box:

• Three Exclusive Blue Hyper Parallels
• One Memorabilia Card Per Box!

Panini launched the Mega Box version of this product in 2016. They have released it ever since as an integral part of that product’s retail presence. Aside from the Rated Rookies Bronze Parallels, which are the main prize, the Box also offers an opportunity to hit Downtown cards. However, that is a long shot at best.

Let’s see how the wax for this product holds up on the secondary market:

The Optic Mega Boxes have an outstanding resale value. If a top-notch rookie QB is in the mix, they can go for well over $500. So, investing in the 2021 Mega Boxes is a no-brainer considering there may be at least one superstar quarterback in the mix.

Singles Value

So, we know these boxes have legs. But what is the secret of its success? Let’s see how well the exclusive Rated Rookies Bronze Parallels do as singles:

These are the highest-valued sales on eBay over the last three months. So I think it is safe to say that the Rated Rookies Bronze Parallels are NOT the secret to the Panini Optic Football Mega Boxes. Even an apparently strong hit, such as the Trey Lance auto, doesn’t go for much. And, notably, hardly any of these cards are graded. Most likely because many people think they aren’t worth the fee. But I would still grade that, Lance.

No, the Panini Optic Football Mega Boxes do well because people like the product and hope to land Downtown. And hey, it works. So, Panini never felt the need to include higher-value exclusives in the boxes.

Panini Playbook Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: Orange Parallels

The Numbers: 4 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack, 20 Total Trading Cards

Guaranteed Cards in the Most Recent Box: Panini doesn’t ensure stuff is in their recent boxes. But here is what they have in each box “on average’:

•  One Autograph or Memorabilia Card on average per Box
•  2 Orange Parallels on average per Box

The Panini Playbook Mega Boxes are among the first products to feature Mega Boxes. Panini has released one of those annually since 2018. In its earliest iterations, the boxes had no exclusive parallels.

However, the company has recently introduced the Orange Parallels as the entire card for these babies. They also feature a particularly low card count compared to their equivalents.

How do they do on the open market? Let’s have a look-see:

The Mega Boxes that have a bit more value are the older ones. And if you search for them online, it’s easy to see why. Unfortunately, few people hold on to their Panini Playbook Football Mega Boxes from the olden and golden pre-pandemic days. But you can get your recent ones for a low and manageable price.

Singles Value

Interestingly, Panini Playbook Football Mega Boxes’ price decreased the year the company introduced Orange Parallels as the exclusive prize. Does that mean they don’t have much of a market out there? There is only one reliable way to find out:

I don’t want to sound harsh, but the Orange Parallel is basically worthless. So, stuffing two of them in each Mega Box doesn’t increase its market appeal. Indeed, that would mean that 10% of the Box (which has so few cards, to begin with) is guaranteed to be junk.

Therefore, it is easy to see why the last two releases of Panini Playbook Football Mega Boxes are worth very little.

Panini Prizm NBA Basketball Mega Boxes

The Prize: Green Ice Prizms and Pink Ice Prizms

The Numbers: 6 Packs Per Box, 9 Cards Per Pack, 54 Total Trading Cards

Cards Guaranteed In The Most Recent Box: Nothing is guaranteed, but Panini promises 10 Pink Ice Prizms and 4 Green Ice Prizms “on average” in each Box.

NBA Prizm is the king of basketball cards, and they could release just about any format, and it would sell. That is not in dispute. But because this is such a significant release, Panini takes this Mega Box more seriously than most.

It includes two exclusive Prizm parallels and a good number of both. Do the prices reflect the higher incidence of exclusive cards? Let’s take a look:

Combining a desirable product and a strong selection of Mega Box exclusives makes this an indispensable release. But, of course, the towering price of that 2018-19 release is no reflection of future value.

That is just what happens when you have a Luka rookie from a period where nobody thought to stash away Mega Boxes. But the $300 value of 2019-20 is realistic for suitable rookie classes in the future.

Value

But that begs the question, what is feeding the high price of this release? Is it just our undying love for Prizm Basketball, or are the Pink Ice Prizms and Green Ice Prizms playing a role as well? Let’s take a look.

The Pink Prizm cards do better. But the Green Ice Prizms are no slouches, either. And that is no accident. These cards are scorching beauties, and Panini has numbered many of them and provided autos from top rookies. This is how you put together a Mega Box.

Panini Prizm Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: Green Pulsar Memorabilia cards.

The Numbers: 4 Cards per Pack, 10 Packs per Box, 40 Total Trading Cards

Cards Guaranteed In The Most Recent Box:

• One memorabilia card per Box
• Five Neon Green Pulsar Prizms per box
• Three base or rookie Silver Prizms per Box
• Ten rookies per Box
• Two inserts per Box

Prizm also includes Mega Boxes in their retail crop. The product saw its first tentative release in 2016 as a Target exclusive.

Then in 2018, following the success of its Donruss Optic boxes, it began to launch them annually for the general public.

Prizm Football is a highly popular product, as we all know. But how well do these boxes do on the open market? Let’s check out the numbers:

The floor for Panini Prizm Football Mega Boxes is pretty high. None of them go for under 200$ right now, and that is despite the recent decline in wax prices.

Singles Value

But is that because of the strength of Prizm Football or the exclusive cards in the Box? The Green Pulsar Memorabilia cards only come in Panini Prizm Football Mega Boxes. But how much are they worth as singles? I looked at some examples:

The Green Pulsar cards aren’t desirable, as seen from these prices. However, the big rookies from 2021 are going for low prices, even as PSA 10s. And while you can find some of these cards on eBay listed for $400-500, they seldom sell for over $100.

But here is why some of these older boxes are worth quite a bit. In the past, like in the 2019 Panini Prizm Football Mega Boxes, they included one auto Green Pulsar.

But unfortunately, the 2021 version contains Five Neon Green Pulsar Prizms, but none are autos. And considering these cards are not great, stuffing the Box full of them is not a plus.

So, it is quite possible that future Panini Prizm Football Mega Boxes will be worth considerably less money. Of course, everyone loves Prizm Football, but there are better formats out there.

Panini NFL Select Football Mega Boxes

The Prize: Ten exclusive Purple Prizm Die-Cuts

The Numbers: 4 Cards per Pack, 10 Packs per Box, 40 Total Trading Cards

Cards Guaranteed In The Most Recent Box:

Really nothing is guaranteed in the Box. Panini says you will get ten exclusive Purple Prizm Die-Cuts on average. The other cards are the usual Select fare.

The Panini NFL Select Football Mega Boxes are a recent creation. They first appeared in 2020, when Select first released a retail release. Therefore, we have a smaller sample size than usual. But we won’t let that stop us. Here is their value on the market:

Singles Value

Panini did not release a Panini NFL Select Football Mega Box, so they likely will not issue one this year. Is that because the exclusive Purple Prizm Die-Cuts were unpopular? Let’s see how they did as singles:

The Purple Prizm Die-Cuts do significantly better than most Panini Mega Box exclusive cards. Of course, part of the secret is that they are die-cut, which people love (though I have no idea why).

But more importantly, these cards had appeared in Panini products and were already quite popular. But their relative success makes the decision to omit the product from the 2021 release strange.

Topps Series 1 And Series 2 Mega Boxes

The Prize: There are no exclusive cards in this release. In 2021 the hit was an exclusive Royal Blue Parallel

The Numbers: 16 Packs Per Box, 16 Cards Per Pack, 256 Total Trading Cards

Cards Guaranteed In The Most Recent Box: This release has no guaranteed hits.

After launching the Topps Chrome Mega Box in 2016, the company also started to sell them for its flagship products.

So, in 2021, we see the launch of the Mega Box for Series 1 and Series 2. Topps is usually quite good at placing worthwhile Mega Boxes exclusives in their products.

But the flagship Megas is an unfortunate exception to the rule. Instead of placing a unique hit in the boxes or guaranteeing any hits, they filled it with many cards.

As a result, the 2022 Topps Series 1 Mega Box includes a bumper crop of 256 cards. Not too far from the 336, you will find it in the equivalent hobby box.

As a note, in 2021, Topps launched a Series 2 Mega Box and tried to market it with an exclusive Royal Blue Parallel. However, that did not work, and last year the company didn’t sell a Mega Box for Series 2.

Keep in mind that Series 2 has about one-third of the print run of Series 1. So, it makes sense to have fewer formats on the market.

Wax Value

So, considering there are no guaranteed hits here and you are likely to unearth a tremendous amount of base, the boxes don’t sound very desirable. Nonetheless, let’s see how much they go for:

These boxes go for what you would expect for a box, essentially a dump of base cards. However, they should know better, considering how well Topps has done with its Bowman and Chrome Mega Boxes.

Final thoughts on Mega Boxes

The value of a Mega Box reflects more than one element. First, the more prestigious and desirable the product, the easier it is to market a valuable Mega Box. Of course, that almost goes without saying. But just as important are the exclusive hits.

In order to make a genuinely great Mega, a company should include at least one parallel you can’t get anywhere else. And if you have some other guaranteed hits, that is even better. Unfortunately, the companies (especially Panini) have backed away from including guaranteed non-exclusive hits in Mega Boxes.

It is easy to see when card companies put effort into their Mega Boxes. And both Panini and Topps know how to do so when they so wish. The best example of a Topps home run is the Bowman Mega Box.

Topps has also managed to elevate its Chrome Mega Boxes by including exclusive X-Fractor cards, a beloved insert best remembered from its storied basketball days.

The inclusion of the awesome Mojo Refractor, sometimes numbered or autographed, makes the product what it is. Meanwhile, Panini has done something similar with its Prizm release, especially the NBA variant.

Including the Green Ice and Pink Ice Prizm in Mega Boxes makes opening each one a unique experience.

Unfortunately, both companies also know how to make Mega Boxes an afterthought. Many Panini products have no exclusives or one garbage with no redeeming features. Topps has also created a base card dump for Series 1. Do your research because Mega Boxes vary wildly in quality.

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