2022 Score Football Review, Parallels and Investing Outlook - Cardlines (2024)

Score is almost always the first major release of the NFL season, and this year is no different. Its affordable price point, number of autographs, and volume of cards make it a fun rip, but is it worth it?

A year ago we answered that question, and now we’re back to analyze the 2022 release and make sure you know exactly how to treat Score 2022 as an investment.

Check out the latest prices on 2022 Panini Score Football on eBay here

Score football cards are known for being simple. It’s the first officially licensed NFL product of the season, but most of the cards will still feature the rookies in their college jerseys. That said, for the first time in recent memory, early mock-ups suggest some of the rookies will have NFL uniforms – perhaps the one main advantage of the late comparatively late release date.

Score is for football what Hoops is for basketball, and the parallel sets are largely the same, too. If Optic is Target and Donruss is Walmart, you can think of Score as an Aldi’s or other small-chain grocery store with good prices and minimal offerings.

It’s not a sexy, high-end product, but it doesn’t pretend to be. It does something else…

It’s fun.

When will Score 2022 Football release?

The Score 2022 football release is expected to release on September 30th, 2022. Release dates are subject to change.

Score’s hobby product is all about having a big rip session with bright cards, cool parallels and some decent autograph potential.

Each box comes with 10 packs of 40 cards, so you’re getting 400 cards per box. Each box will contain 4 autographs, 90 rookies, 10 parallels and 36 inserts. (Suggested Score tagline: Killing trees for the RCs.”)

With a very deep checklist of 100 rookies, Score usually has every single rookie you could ever hope to pull. Occasionally, when an unexpected star breaks out, this can create value in its own way.

There are some hobby and H2 (hobby hybrid) inserts to chase, too: Breakthrough, Toe the Line, Hot Rookies, NFL Draft, Fantasy Stars and Squad.

Panini’s notes also tells collectors to, “Look for short printed Lenticular inserts with intergalatic and Base Dynamics!” You can expect one Lenticular insert per case.

There are also base die-cuts, which fall 2 per case.

2022 Score Football cards checklist information

Score 2022 football returns with the comfortably familiar checklist of parallels, which have been around for about as long as the product has. For the base and rookie cards, they’re as follows:

• Base
• Base Scorecard
• Base Showcase #’d/100
• Base Gold Zone #’d/50
• Base Artist’s Proof #’d/35
• Base Red Zone #’d/20
• Base First Down #’d/10
• Base End Zone #’d/6
• Base Gem Masters One-of-One
• Base Die-Cut #’d/10

You can shop Score parallels right here.

When it comes to the autographs, the parallels largely stay the same but they drop the Showcase /100 tier.

• Rookie Signatures
• Rookie Signatures Gold Zone Max #’d/50
• Rookie Signatures Artist’s Proof Max #’d/35
• Rookie Signatures Red Zone Max #’d/20
• Rookie Signatures First Down Max #’d/10
• Rookie Signatures End Zone Max #’d/6
• Rookie Signatures Gem Masters One-of-One

Here are some recently listed Score autographs on eBay.

Let’s look at investing in 2022 Score football cards as a potential investment, both sealed and singles.

Investing in 2022 Score football wax

Let’s assume the pre-order price doesn’t budge and we have a release price of $200 for this sealed product as we try to value it as a potential investment.

With that in mind, here’s the value of sealed Score boxes for the last few years:

• 2017: $540
• 2018: $360
• 2019: $230
• 2020: $340
• 2021: $230

You can shop your own Score hobby boxes on eBay right here.

When I outline the values for football products, 2019 is always the lowest on the list because of the rookie class. And while that still holds true here, it’s nice to see that the lowest resell price for sealed wax over the last 5 years is still less than the release price for the 2022 product.

But be warned: one factor that’s already baked into the price is the general skepticism about the 2022 rookie class. Without many headlining quarterbacks, this product shouldn’t be expected to be as valuable as the last five years of products.

Still, at $200 this is not a bad long-term buy.

This is a section I always include, but with Score, I’ll keep it really short: there are not many singles I’d invest in long-term. Or… any, really. But if you want an affordable rookie autograph of a big-ticket player and you’re working with a smaller budget, this might be your best option. Apart from that, though, you’d be better off waiting for other sets – even Donruss.

No matter how great the player is, the ceiling is only going to be so high with Score. Save your individual player investments for a brand that has more potential.

Bottom line for Score 2022 football cards: Rip, hold or pass?

2022 Score Football is not a high-end product and it doesn’t pretend to be, but that’s part of it’s charm and what keeps it coming back year after year.

With a shaky 2022 rookie class, it could work as a long-term hold but we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it (base your judgment off your own belief in the rookies), and it’s not a product to invest in for singles.

That said, Score is perfect for the thing this hobby is truly about: ripping packs. Buy a $200 box, grab your family and friends, and go for it! What will you pull?

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Check out the latest prices on 2022 Panini Score Football on eBay here