2009 Bowman Sterling Football
Product Review
2009 Bowman Sterling Football Product Review
Good: Great high-quality design that screams of being a premium product. Tons of hits and serial numbered rookie cards in each pack, equating to considerable value despite the lofty price tag.
Bad: Considering the state of the economy, $300 is an awful lot to pronounce on one box of cards, thereby limiting the audience for 2009 Bowman Sterling Football considerably. There aren't an excessive amount of plain vanilla game used memorabilia cards which don't exactly fit with the premium theme of the set.
The Bottom Line: The Bowman Sterling brand is a perennial premium card powerhouse and 2009 Bowman Sterling Football does well to carry on the torch. However its steep price tag will limit its audience considerably. There is not much innovative about this product. If you like past Bowman Sterling Football card sets and are looking for more of the same type of spans, albeit updated for 2009, then 2009 Bowman Sterling Football is the way to go.
Personally, if I had $279 to spend on football card products I would rather use the money to buy three boxes of 2009 Topps Chrome Football and a box of 2009 Upper Deck Heroes Football.
Design
Design wise Bowman Sterling always delivers and 2009 Bowman Sterling Football is no exception. Each high-gloss card features a player surrounded by a variety of different metallic patterns and designs. The players are portrayed very crisply and really pop off the card. Even the standard game used memorabilia cards look nice as a result of the sets high-class design.
Checklist
The checklist is strong from a rookie and star standpoint. This is a very rookie centric product with the majority of cards in each pack being various rookie base cards, refractors, game used jersey cards and autographs. 2009 Bowman Sterling Football has every notable member of the 2009 NFL draft class represented in its checklist. Complementing this impressive assortment of rookies is a nice mix of current NFL stars. Don't expect to find many cards of retired NFL players, although that is actually not a bad thing as 2009 Sterling Football is much better suited to a modern checklist than a vintage one.
Value
Because of the almost $300 price tag it's easy to jump to the conclusion that Bowman Sterling Football isn't much of a value. Although there are far better ways to stretch your collecting dollar then 2009 Bowman Sterling Football, if you are in search of a premium football card product this is probably the best deal in town. Most high-end sports card products contain one or two packs per box, with each containing one or two autographs or a memorabilia cards at most. This year's Bowman Sterling Football set on the other hand boasts a whopping 18 hits per hobby box. When looked at in this context it is an excellent deal. However, when compared dollar for dollar to good lower end products on the market I like the options available at the mid range, under $100 price point more.
Enjoyability
2009 Bowman Sterling Football suffers from the same drawbacks as other high-end products, in that the box breaks are very brief. There was the added excitement of knowing I was breaking a product filled with thoughts of potential big-time hits, and the net result is that I ended up having a good (but not great) time breaking it.
Box Break
Here are my pulls from the hobby pack used for this review:
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Product Details
Hits Per Box: 20
MSRP: $50 per pack
Box Configuration: 4 Boxes Per Case / 6 Packs Per Box / 5 Cards Per Pack
Product Information
2009 Bowman Sterling Football Case Break:
Every Pack Guarantees:
(1) Autographed Card
(2) Relic Cards
(2) Rookie Cards
Every Box Guarantees:
(2) Autographed Relic Cards
(12) Relic Cards
(12) Rookie Cards
(6) Autographed Cards
Every Case Guarantees:
(1) Dual Autographed Gold Refractor Card
Base Rookie Cards (12 Per Box)
Fifty 2009 NFL Rookies on serial numbered, official NFL rookie cards. Available in the following parallel versions:
- Red: One of One
- Gold: Numbered to 25
- Black: Numbered to 50
- White: Numbered to 89
- Refractor: Numbered to 199
Autographed Base Cards (6 Per Box)
50 novices on signed serial numbered cards. Available in the following parallel versions:
- Red: One of One
- White: Numbered to 5
- Gold: Numbered to 10
- Black: Numbered to 25
- Refractor: Numbered to 75
Autograph Base Card Variations
30 Rookies and 30 Veterans in blue and green variations serial numbered to 10.
Relics (12 Per Box)
85 subject in all, including 34 promising Rookies and 51 NFL Veterans and retired legends. Each card is serial numbered and features a swatch of game used memorabilia. Available in the following parallel versions:
- Red: One of One
- White: Numbered to 5
- Gold: Numbered to 25
- Black: Numbered to 50
- Refractor: Numbered to 199
Autographed Relics (2 Per Box)
25 Rookies and 20 Veterans appear on serial numbered variation cards that feature both a signature and a relic. Available in the following parallel versions:
- Red: One of One
- White: Numbered to 5
- Gold: Numbered to 10
- Black: Numbered to 25
- Refractor: Numbered to 75
Base Printing Plates
The 4 plates used to make each of the 85 Rookie and Veteran Relic cards, as well as each of the 50 Rookie base cards. Each printing plate is serial numbered 1 of 1.
Autographed Rookie Printing Plates
The 4 plates used to make all 50 Autographed Rookie cards.
Dual Autographs
Gold Refractor cards featuring dual autographs in various combinations of 40 current and past NFL stars. All dual autographs are serial numbered.
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