Fake autographs run rampant in the hobby for years and eBay seems to be overran with sellers trying to move them to uneducated and unaware buyers. no longer is it safe to assume that just because an autograph appears on a manufacturers printed card, that the autograph is 100% legitimate. There has been rumors of card being back-doored, handed out to friends and family, and even potentially stolen prior to being forged and trying to be sold to the secondary market. This article is aimed at attempting to educate you in how to find authentic and pack inserted, certified, autographs from 2009 Topps Football Rookie Premiere.

Take a look at these two cards and see if you can notice some glaring differences between the two:

The first thing that jumps out at me is obvious forged autograph of the version on the left. However, some forgers have made a real art into duplicating an athletes signature, so that may not always be a tell-tale identifier in the case of the Donal Brown above.

The best identifier I have found is attempting to locate the “Topps Certified Autograph Issue” label on the card, directly above the autograph. As you can see, the pack issued cards have it printed directly on the card, while the forged version is missing the the label. Now, this does not mean the cards can’t have authentic autographs on the cards. Here is an example of a Michael Crabtree that the card may have been back-doored, then actually signed by Crabtree, however, the card is missing the “Topps Certified Autograph Issue” label.

Let’s take a look at some more:

Here are some eBay auctions of some fake Rookie Premiere Autos:

• Aaron Curry
• Andrew Brown
• Chris Wells
• Donald Brown
• Hakeem Nicks
• Jeremy Maclin
• Josh Freeman

Here are some eBay auctions of some authentic Rookie Premiere Autos:

• Knowshon Moreno
• Mike Thomas
• LeSean McCoy
• Mark Sanchez, Matt Stafford, Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin Quad
• Josh Freeman

In the 2011 Topps Football release, Topps has inserted some alternative photos for some of the veteran cards in the set. The short print variations (SP) are seen on the right in each of the photos below.

We have also compiled a list of the 2011 Topps Rookie Short Print Variations.

We will be updating this list as more SP Veteran Variations are found, so be sure to save this link and check back for more updates.

In the 2011 Topps Football release, Topps has inserted some alternative photos for some of the rookie cards in the set. The short print variations (SP) are seen on the right in each of the photos below.

We have also compiled a list of the 2011 Topps Veteran Short Print Variations.

We will be updating this list as more SP Rookie Variations are found, so be sure to save this link and check back for more updates.

After scouring eBay for a few days after the release of 2010 Exquisite Football I began to notice a few things with Joe McKnight’s Rookie Patch Autos. Each of them had a slight variation in the signature. See below:

It looks as if he signed some of them with his USC #4, his Jet’s #25, and some with no number at all. I sent a tweet to @UpperDeckSports asking if they had any idea on the print run variations, however they responded with:

We are not reporting the totals on each variation he signed, rather letting the market determine the scarcity levels.

Based off eBay sales alone, the #4 variation has the perceived scarcity over the two variations.

I haven’t noticed any other variations yet in any other 2010 Exquisite Football cards.

[phpbay]2010 Exquisite Patch Auto*, 10[/phpbay]

The 2010 National Treasures Sam Bradford NFL Logo Shield has surfaced on eBay. One of, if not, the largest chase cards from the 2010 National Treasures release, this card features an on-card autograph of Bradford along with a Authentic NFL Logo Shield and is machine stamped 1 of 1.

The card has been reportedly sold for $5,000.

1. 2010 National Treasures Patch Auto Sam Bradford #25/25 – $1,298.78
2. 2010 National Treasures Sam Bradford RC Patch Auto 5/99 – $1,200.00
3. 2010 NATIONAL TREASURES AUTO PATCH SAM BRADFORD RC /99 – $999.99
4. 2010 NATIONAL TREASURES SAM BRADFORD RC PATCH AUTO /99 – $999.95
5. 2010 National Treasures Sam Bradford Auto Patch 17/99 – $799.00
6. 2010 National Treasures Tim Tebow Gold Patch Auto #9/25 – $735.00
7. 2010 National Treasures TIM TEBOW Auto Patch RPA /99 RC – $679.00
8. Tim Tebow 2010 National Treasures Patch Auto /99! – $655.00
9. 2010 National Treasures Tim Tebow Auto Large Patch /99 – $600.00
10. 2010 National Treasures TIM TEBOW AUTO PATCH RC /99! $$ – $599.99
11. 2010 Panini National Treasures Tebow Autograph Patch/99 – $550.00
12. 2010 National Treasures TOM BRADY 3 clr AUTO PATCH 1/1 – $483.00
13. 2010 National Treasures RYAN MATHEWS RC PATCH AUTO /25 – $472.50
14. DEZ BRYANT 2010 NATIONAL TREASURES ROOKIE PATCH AUTO – $461.90
15. NDAMUKONG SUH 2010 National Treasures Patch Auto 14/25 – $438.00
16. 2010 NATIONAL TREASURES COLT McCOY GOLD RC PATCH AUTO – $400.00
17. 2010 National Treasures Ryan Mathews Auto Patch 22/25 – $400.00
18. Ndamukong Suh 2010 National Treasures GOLD PATCH AUTO – $400.00
19. DAN MARINO 2010 National Treasures AUTO PATCH #9/10 – $390.00
20. 2010 National Treasures DEZ Bryant RPA 14/25 PATCH AUTO – $385.00
21. 2010 NATIONAL TREASURES AUTO PATCH DEZ BRYANT 09/25 – $655.00
22. 2010 National Treasures Eric Berry Auto/Patch /5 – $350.00
23. 2010 National Treasures Ndamukong Suh Patch Auto /25! – $340.23
24. DEZ BRYANT 2010 National Treasures Rookie Patch Auto/99 – $338.56
25. 2010 national treasures JERRY RICE AUTO PATCH #8/10 – $315.00

[phpbay]2010 National Treasures, 10[/phpbay]

Today, Panini released the print runs for the short printed 2010 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket Autographs. There had been much speculation swirling around the Internet in regards to who everyone thought would be a SP or an SSP in the set. With this years addition of the Retail blasters and a guaranteed autograph per box, some of the numbers got a little skewed from peoples original thoughts.

Below is the published production runs for some of the Rookie Tickets autos:

Late last week, we gave you a sneak peek at Panini’s 2010 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket Autograph set. Today, we are bringing you some interesting news and an interesting twist on these Rookie Ticket Autos. It appears as if there are two versions of some of the on-card Rookie Ticket Autos. It has yet to be confirmed which version may be a short-print (SP).

The product officially hits the shelves today, so we should be able to get an idea if one version is more of an SP than the others as more of the cards hit eBay.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

Panini recently released images of the 33 on-card autos that will be available in their upcoming 2010 Playoff Contenders release. The cards, which pay subtle homage to the 1998 release of Contenders Football, feature large crisp images of each player along the left side of the card and continue with the ticket theme along the right side with stadium and team information. The card also features a bold, on-card autograph on the bottom of the card.

Contenders Football is always a fan favorite, and the 2010 set looks to be as great as any.

It’s the type of story typically written just in Hollywood. An undrafted, undersized, unrecognizable, and very unnoticed athlete shoots into superstardom. The New England Patriots Danny Woodhead, who rewrote the NCAA records book out of Chadron State (Nebraska), was one of the best kept secrets during the NFL preseason, until the Jets had to cut him to make room on the roster. The only thing he has done since signing with the Patriots: Produce.

He was rookie last year, but did not have any NFL licensed sports card, until now. Woodhead is not completely without a card, he has an autographed version from Sage that is slowly becoming worth its weight in gold. Panini has announced that Woodhead will be in their upcoming 2010 Contenders release, slated for release on February 6, 2011.