Football News

By Joel Brown

Collectors jammed hobby shops last fall to participate in the Players Inc NFL Player of the Day promotion. Now, by adding an exclusive card set and an Internet sweepstakes, Players Inc is giving hobbyists even more reasons to visit their local store.

Along with licencees Donruss/Playoff, Fleer, Topps and Upper Deck, Players Inc will soon launch its 2001 NFL Player of the Day promotion. The promotion, timed with the kickoff of the 2001 NFL season, will run through November 30.

"We are very excited about working with our licensees to once again provide this opportunity for the hobby stores," said Dawn Ridley-Nash, Players Inc assistant vice president, trading cards and collectibles. "The program was a big success for hobby retailers last year. We're confident that the enhanced program will once again drive store traffic, sales and encourage repeat visits."

More than 500 shops are expected to participate in the program. Two new elements include a Web site decoder sweepstakes and an exclusive NFL Player of the Day card set, which contains a cover card and one card specially produced by each of the four participating licensees, featuring the NFL Player of the Day logo. The cards in the set include: Donovan McNabb (Fleer), Kurt Warner and Randy Moss (Donruss/Playoff), Eddie George (Topps), and Peyton Manning (Upper Deck).

The NFL Player of the Day Web site decoder sweepstakes uses the latest in Internet sweepstakes technology to allow collectors to decode their game cards at the Players Inc official Web site, www.nflplayers.com. More than 200,000 decoder sweepstakes game cards will be distributed in hobby shops and in selected copies of the November 2001 issue of Tuff Stuff.

The grand prizewinner will host an NFL Playoff Party for 10 friends and an NFL star. The NFL player will also accompany the winner to his local hobby shop for a $250 shopping spree and a free autograph session. More than 6,000 prizes will be awarded, including NFL Player of the Day card sets, autographed cards and helmets from NFL stars such as Curtis Martin, and Tuff Stuff subscriptions.

Collectors may participate in the in-store promotion by purchasing at least one pack of 2001-2002 Players Inc Officially Licensed Cards during a 31-day period from September 1 through November 31. Participating hobby stores will display a poster featuring 31 different NFL player card images. Consumers must open their pack (or packs) in the store, and if they pull the NFL Player of the Day featured on the poster, they are a daily winner. Stores will award more than 25,000 prizes provided by Players Inc to daily winners.

NFL Player of the Day winners are then automatically entered into the NFL Player of the Week drawing by each store. Weekly winners will receive an exclusive 2001 NFL Player of the Day card set. At the end of the promotion, each shop will randomly select an NFL Player of the Month from the weekly winners to receive an autographed card.

All NFL Player of the Month winners will be entered into the national sweepstakes for additional autographed items and for the grand prize.

Collectors may locate their local participating hobby store by visiting the promotion section of the Players Inc official Web site, www.nflplayers.com, beginning September 1, 2001. Official rules are also available on the site and at hobby shops.