2023 Absolute Green Kaboom! Horizontal C.J. Stroud ROOKIE 1/1 #11 PSA 10 GEM

Throughout more than two decades of existence, the Houston Texans have experienced several eras of stability at the quarterback position, but with a meager 11 wins over the three seasons from 2020 to ’22, the franchise wanted to transition to a new signal-caller to go with its new coaching staff in 2023. With the second overall selection of the NFL Draft, the Texans selected C.J. Stroud to become their quarterback of the future under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans. Stroud quickly proved his worth, becoming one of the most prolific rookie quarterbacks ever. His superb season also gave Panini a star rookie to feature on the fifth anniversary of its popular NFL Absolute Kaboom inserts—and Stroud’s 1/1 Horizontal Green Kaboom is one of the most coveted cards from the entire product. In 2013, Panini answered the question: What would the NBA’s top talent look like as comic book characters? That year, the company’s creative director, Brandon Lesley, teamed up with Hungarian illustrator Gyula Nemeth for a new 20-card insert set called Kaboom. Nemeth illustrated the players in a pop art style, and Panini backed his artwork with eccentric foil patterns and inserted the cards as case hits in the Panini Innovation set. Basketball collectors fell in love with Kaboom cards, so Panini did not take long to print them for other sports, including 2018’s multi-sport checklist that gave a handful of NFL players their first Kaboom card. Panini released the first standalone NFL Kaboom set in 2019, and football collectors have highly regarded the rare inserts ever since. In 2023, the regular Kaboom checklist includes 40 cards, while only 15 players appear in the second edition of the horizontal issues. Each card has two parallels, a /10 Gold and the ultimate chase, a 1/1 Green. Stroud became the fifth rookie in history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in 2023, recording the third-best total with 4,108 yards in 15 games. With only five interceptions, he became the third rookie to attempt at least 400 passes and throw five or fewer picks (joining Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow). His performance lifted the Texans into the postseason for the first time since 2019, and he threw three touchdown passes in his playoff debut, a win over the Cleveland Browns. “It’s a great combination, DeMeco and C.J.,” said legendary Texans lineman J.J. Watt. “That organization is in good hands for a long time.” The certification number on this card has been checked against the third party grader's online database and is active as of 02/02/2024.