Football Season Officially Begins as 2012 Upper Deck Football Releases This Week!

Collectors can score rookie and autograph cards of top draft picks like Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson and Justin Blackmon!

Carlsbad, CA (April 25, 2012)– All eyes are on Radio City Music Hall in New York City where Thursday night we will see a bevy of talented former college stars will become millionaires when they are drafted. And just in time for the big event, collectors are enjoying the opportunity to collect these top prospects with 2012 Upper Deck Football which released yesterday. With “Star Rookies” and autograph cards from this year’s top football freshmen like Robert Griffin III (Baylor), Trent Richardson (Alabama), Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M) and Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State) it is easy to see why fans are excited about opening packs.

“The flagship release of 2012 Upper Deck Football signals the start of the season for collectors as they chase rookie cards of top draft picks,” said Brandon Miller, Upper Deck’s collegiate sports brand manager. “With three autograph cards per box, loads of rookie content and some additional enhancements and surprises, 2012 Upper Deck Football should provide collectors with plenty of excitement as their favorite collegiate players join the professional ranks.”

Fans can find autograph cards of rookies in the form of “Star Rookies” autograph parallels, hard-signed “Rookie Letterman Signatures,” “1993 SP Football” autograph parallels and hard-signed “Ultimate Collection Rookie Signatures.” The most exciting cards in the set may be the “Rookie Stripe” exchange cards which return with a new twist. These cards are now redeemable for 15 autographed rookie cards of the player depicted on the card!

Upper Deck took a page from yesteryear with the 2012 Upper Deck Football product by creating a special 100-card “1993 SP Football” insert set that features past, present and future football stars utilizing the classic 1993 design. There will be rare autograph parallels for every player featured. The throwback cards will showcase former college greats like Troy Aikman (UCLA) and Steve Young (BYU), current professional stars like Drew Brees (Purdue), and many of the top 2012 rookies.

The sleeper set in the series will likely be the new “College Mascot” manufactured patch subset. This 60-card set will feature some of the most popular and entertaining mascots in college football. These soon-to-be-popular cards fall at an average of four per case with different levels of rarity. Some schools also have rare variant versions as well that are sure to be very collectible.

Collectors should also be on the lookout for a special “Trade Upper Deck” exchange card that can be sent in to receive a limited rookie card of a first-round quarterback to be named at a later date. Super-rare versions of these cards exist as well that are good for an autographed version of the rookie card. Worthy of note, the version of the trade card in silver is for the regular rookie card and the version in gold is for the autograph card.

Featuring 6 cards per pack and 20 packs per box, 2012 Upper Deck Football is available now at hobby shops and retail locations throughout North America!

About Upper Deck

Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com.