Upper Deck Inks Top Football Draft Picks to Trading Card Deals

Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Michael Sam, Blake Bortles and other top prospects sign deals to appear on new Upper Deck trading cards!

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Upper Deck

Feb 26, 2014, 06:02 ET

CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The first licensed football rookie cards of the year will debut in 2014 Upper Deck Football and fans can expect to see some of the best prospects in the game. Over the past several weeks, Upper Deck has been busy signing deals with the highest-profile players who are a part of the heavily touted 2014 pro football draft class. Signing sessions with many of the players have already begun as Upper Deck acquires hard-signed signatures for the company's popular "Lettermen" autograph cards.

Johnny Manziel will have rare autograph rookie cards in 2014 Upper Deck Football which releases on April 16! Upper Deck is the home to the first licensed rookie cards of the year for Manziel, Bridgewater, Bortles, Sam and more! (PRNewsFoto/Upper Deck) (PRNewsFoto/UPPER DECK)

This will be Michael Sam's first licensed rookie card to hit the market in 2014 Upper Deck Football available to fans on April 16! (PRNewsFoto/Upper Deck) (PRNewsFoto/UPPER DECK)

Upper Deck will be the first trading card manufacturer to deliver fans licensed rookie cards of top talents like Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Michael Sam, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, Ka'Deem Carey, Sammy Watkins and other sensational draft picks to be. Fans and collectors can look for rookie cards (including autograph versions) of these young stars when 2014 Upper Deck Football hits shelves on April 16.

"It is going to be a historic year for football rookies with so much talent and hype surrounding the draft so it was critical for our athlete relations team to lock in deals with this new crop of rookies," said Brandon Miller, Upper Deck's collegiate sports brand manager. "The next few weeks will be some of the busiest of the year for our football team, but it all pays off when we hear how excited our customers are when they open up new Upper Deck packs and pull the best players, discover the best autographs and find the best value in the marketplace."

Football fans can find 200 different rookie cards in the 2014 Upper Deck Football set from first-round superstars to sleepers that inevitably take collectors by storm once they hit the gridiron and showcase their talents. Beyond the regular Star Rookie cards, fans can find short-printed photo variation rookies, glossy rookies numbered to just 10 copies, and autographed rookies.

Additionally, Upper Deck pays homage to the past with the "1994 UD Tribute" insert set featuring veterans and rookies along with autograph parallel versions.

The "College Mascot Patch" insert cards have been incredibly popular over the last two years and the 2014 set has evolved into "College Tribute Patch" cards. This new insert series uses patches to highlight college football traditions from around the country. Whether it be the "smoke show" at Miami or Howard's Rock at Clemson, fans are sure to be clamoring to collect the entire 60-card set. Every hobby case will deliver four of these patch cards on average with varying levels of rarity.

Also returning are "Predictor" cards which became very popular during the 1990's. These interactive cards offer collectors exclusive prizes if the player depicted on the card is the first player picked at their position in the 2014 pro football draft. These rare (1:1,440 packs) "Predictor" cards for the QB, RB and WR positions are sure to bring an added level of excitement and value to the pack opening experience!

The next great crop of Star Rookies are coming in 2014 Upper Deck Football this April.

About Upper Deck
Upper Deck, headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., is a worldwide sports and entertainment company built on the pillars of quality craftsmanship, authenticity and innovation with a dedication to creating products that turn memorable moments into collectibles. Upper Deck revolutionized the sports trading card experience with anti-counterfeit holograms, high quality card stock and stunning photography in its inaugural 1989 baseball set, and since then its mission has been to capture the excitement of the game and deliver it to fans of all ages. The cornerstone of Upper Deck's business, which opened in 1989, is based on sports trading cards. As its brand has evolved to include other products over the years, the company now creates exclusive memorabilia, gaming products, collectible cards and a wide array of sports trading cards.

Find more information at www.UpperDeck.com, www.UpperDeckBlog.com or follow us on Facebook (UpperDeck), Twitter (@UpperDeckSports), and YouTube (udvids).

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SOURCE Upper Deck