We’re ready for some football! Too bad there’s more than 100 days until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Dallas Cowboys. New football sets are starting to come out, although many have seen or will be launched with significant price increases over where they were 2-3 years ago. 2021 Score released this month and was a $300 box direct from Panini (which sold out in minutes) and approaching $400 on the secondary markets.

The higher prices on unopened boxes has led many collectors looking for new alternatives to get their ripping fix. One option is the growing number of memorabilia boxes being offered. Brought into hobby relevance by Tristar with their Hidden Treasures series, products are now being offered by Hit Parade, Gold Rush and more.

Today, we’re opening a 2021 Hit Parade Series 2 Autographed Mini Helmet Box. The product carries a $189.95 retail price but is often available in sales on Dave and Adam’s Card World. We were able to get our box for $145.95 during their 30th Anniversary sale. The box contains one randomly signed mini helmet and this series is made up of just 100 individually numbered boxes. The product is headlined by current players like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Aaron Donald and Justin Jefferson. Legends include Drew Brees, Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis.

Here’s what we got in our box (which was individually hand-numbered 32/100):

We’re not going to lie, getting a Jacob Eason signed helmet was not what we were expecting with some of the names in the product. Eason was the Colts 4th Round pick in 2020 (122nd overall) and does not have a clear path to taking over the starting roll in Indy with the off-season acquisition of Carson Wentz.

On the positive Eason does have a pretty strong following amongst collectors. His cards bring in a good amount of bids and good prices. If he gets a chance to play, this could be a really nice sleeper piece for our collection.

As for value, the helmet is an Indianapolis Colts Riddell Speed mini and the autograph is authenticated by Fanatics. Checking eBay, we were able to find this helmet in the $100 range. Fanatics has the helmet listed for $119.99,

Overall, adding to the memorabilia collection is always a plus. While we would have preferred a player with a higher probability of seeing action on Sunday’s this fall, there is a decent prospecting aspect to this helmet. QB’s with the potential to be a starter in the NFL always have value, and we now have another reason to follow the Colts this season.

Overall Grade: C–