PRIZM vs OPTIC – Which is the BEST NFL Rookie?

1,405 words, 7 minutes read time.

In the world of basketball cards, Panini Prizm is the biggest set by far, and arguably the only retail set worth chasing if resale and value is maximally important to you. In the world of football cards, Prizm and Optic tend to be a 1a / 1b scenario. Both have an extremely high quality, premium feel to them, and both base Rookie RC cards hold their value extremely well, they just have a very different vibe to them.

Prizm skews towards flashy / foil reflection and futuristic design, with a deep collection of parallels and color variety to contrast and complement the player jerseys.

Optic is a more clean and minimalist design, it’s a mega-premium version of the flagship Donruss set using a thicker cardstock, an Optichrome reflective finish.

It’s easier to ‘show’ than it is to ‘tell,’ mind you, so consider the following example. We’ll start with Josh Allen’s rookie year from 2018 and compare the Prizm rookie vs the Optic rookie, and look as a few parallels.

The Prizm rookie in a PSA 9, recent comps (comparable sales) on Ebay, looks like so:

The Optic rookie, same deal:

I’d make the argument that in this case, the Optic version is cleaner, nicer, etc. And in this case, it seems the market agrees with me. But if you search up the same card and do this same comparison for other players, you can easily find examples where the Prizm outpaces the Optic in terms of the resale value of the card. The point is, both versions are usually still very desirable, even in just the base card format – these examples are not the silver / holo versions of the cards, they aren’t parallels, we’re just talking about the base card here for simple comparison.

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Let’s take a second to discuss a VERY common question regarding the most POPULAR parallel you can find in these sets – the silver / holo. I use the “/” here because in Prizm, we call it the ‘silver’ parallel, and in Optic, we call it the ‘holo.’ What it actually is is a film placed over the card that reflects / refracts light into a rainbow spectrum, depending how the light hits it. It’s a cool effect.

Back in the day, Topps created this parallel design and patented it – in the Topps world, it’s called a Refractor, and they have their own names for the various types of refracting film they use on the cards (x-fractor, prism refractor, etc).

Since Panini was unable to use the ‘refractor’ term, they went and named their own version of this a ‘Prizm,’ with the Z. Then they went and called their biggest set Prizm, further confusing things. And since people often compare Prizm and Optic, the community decided not to call the Optic Refractor parallel an Optic Prizm, since that would only make things worse – hence, the Optic Refractor is called a Holo.

I don’t even know if that helps with the confusion, but at least it’s all true.

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Let’s check out the silver / holo versions real quick, just for reference:

Don’t take our use of PSA slabbed images as a shining endorsement of the grading company or it’s specific grading practices, either. The images are just easier to find online, and the names of the parallels are clearly and accurately displayed here. You can also see the silver vs. holo naming difference in the PSA slab tag at the top.

And for reference, both cards needs to be photographed at a slight angle to properly catch the reflective effect, and they are both equally rainbow-refracting – the difference in the photos is a question of photographer skill, not a physical, in person, card viewing experience. These things are fantastic to hold and look at in person, the pics don’t do them justice.

“OK, so which one do I buy? Which to hold? Which set should I chase?”

Great question. Not an easy answer. This article is being written here in April of 2025, which means this year’s big chase rookie is Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders. Prizm was released just after Christmas 2024, so we know what those cards are doing. Optic isn’t out yet, but in the Donruss Football set each year, one of the chase cards you can find in that set is what’s called an Optic Preview – essentially a Donruss-designed card with the Optic Holo finish. So let’s start there.

And here’s what the 2024 Optic Football set is going to look like, both the base cards and the holo:

With that, you can take a good stab at what the JD5 Optic Rated Rookie is going to look like, should be a very nice card. Now let’s look at the 2024 Prizm offering.

For reference, the Prizm silver in a PSA 10 is selling north of $2,000 USD right now while hype is maxed. Both are very nice options. Hard to gem and grade to a PSA 10 though, Panini quality control isn’t ideal.

Prizm this year in 2024 are full of slight centering issues, dimples on the foil, print lines and so forth. Population for stuff like Drake Maye base rookies in a PSA 10 remain under 200, and that’s three months after set release.

I think you can reasonably expect the Prizm rookies to hold their value exceptionally well. If you compare the Jayden to the Josh Allen, for example:

Here’s what jumps out to me, immediately. And this is speaking as someone who has a background in graphic design, at least years ago.

1. The 2024 design reads more intuitively. Top to bottom, left to right. This is generally more psychologically satisfying.
2. The 2024 Prizm design uses much better font for the player name. That player font looks weirdly dated and old school on the 2018 design, and doesn’t suit the metal/futuristic design of the Prizm style, whereas the 2024 font is better suited.
3. If that last point doesn’t immediately make sense, try looking at it this way – the card is designed very vertically, long vertical design elements like the bordering stretch the length of the card design. Having the font match this energy is a more cohesive and satisfying design.
4. Team logo on the front of the card in the 2024 design is also a plus.

I could go on, there’s a lot of tiny details that go into a design that are intended to make a collector’s brain itch get scratched in exactly the right way to feel important to own. Most of the psychology is so subtle that you couldn’t even usually tell me WHY you like what you like. Suffice it to say that the design of the 2024 Prizm set is based on some very solid design principles and should have a timeless quality to it. If I can get my hands on a Prizm silver of JD5 or a solid rookie QB from this draft class, I’d be happy to hold that card in my PC, I expect it will do very well.

With that said…

I truly hope the Optic JD5 looks as amazingly clean and well framed as the base Donruss rookie.

The color / contrast, the player pose… I think they truly nailed the design of this card. It feels warm and sharp in the Commanders team colors and if I wanted to buy into JD5, I’d be hunting this card down like a savage. When I look at the new Optic design, I worry that they’ve overdesigned it.

One detail that doesn’t immediately seem important on this Donruss design is the cartoon football there at the left of the player name – but try to project 5, 10, 15 years into the future here. I’d argue that tying the modern and sharp design down to an old-school element like that simply football graphic will give it a vintage feel amidst a sea of over-designed hype.

Consider car manufacturer brands like Hyundai and Kia that re-style their models every couple of years. And then consider the Porsche 911 for comparison. Timeless design vs. the latest design fad. Both sell, sure.

But which one would you really rather own?

I’m going to wrap it up with that little idea right there.

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Remember – the best card to own is the one YOU want to enjoy on your desk for years to come.

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