2022 Panini Encased Football

Panini's 2022 Encased Football landed during the company's final year making NFL cards before losing the license to Fanatics. It's a mid-to-high-end release built around a simple concept: cards housed in acrylic cases that you can pull from the pack. The 2022 class had legitimate star power with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts leading the way as the most chased names. Each box gives you a smaller number of cards compared to base products, but the encased presentation adds a collectible factor beyond just the cardstock itself. If you want cards that sit differently on a shelf than standard slabs, this was worth paying attention to. What makes Encased tick is the variety of parallel treatments and materials. You're chasing different case colors, special finishes on the cards themselves, and numbered parallels that drop the print runs significantly. Mahomes and Allen versions in rare parallel tiers can move quickly. The product also includes some rookie content depending on the year, though 2022 didn't have the same rookie class hype as some previous seasons. Boxes are pricey, so knowing what tiers exist before you buy is important. Most collectors either target specific players or hunt for the rarest case colors rather than trying to complete sets. Encased is better suited for collectors who appreciate the presentation angle and have a target player in mind rather than set builders. If you're a Mahomes or Allen guy and want something with visual appeal beyond a regular PSA slab, this works. For pure value or ripping for profit, you're better off elsewhere. Secondary market singles let you cherry-pick the parallels you actually want without gambling on boxes. It's a niche product that appeals to a specific collector mindset, which is exactly why it found its audience during Panini's final stretch.