Registration for the most successful hobby shop promotion in the industry kicked off this week as more than 500 hobby shops across North America received invitations to participate in the 2012 Panini America NFL Player of the Day promotion.



For the 13th consecutive year, every time a collector opens up a pack of Panini America NFL trading cards in a participating hobby shop, they can also win one of 50,000 prizes including the grand prize -- the chance to spend a day with an NFL player.



Encourage your hobby shops to participate either by accepting the invitation that was sent to them by Panini America or by emailing pod@paninipod.com for more information.



"We are pleased to support hobby shops with this popular and successful promotion that has proven to help dealers sell more packs of Panini America NFL trading cards while also providing a fun, interactive contest that collectors can experience only in their local hobby shop," said Jason Howarth, Panini America Vice President of Marketing. "The overwhelming support from hobby shops makes it a natural for us to bring this program back once again."



The promotion is once again being supported by NFL PLAYERS and its licensees including Reebok, Wincraft, Jarden, Trends International, Gamewear, Team Beans and more. Each participating shop receives a free merchandise kit with all of the materials needed to run the promotion, including posters, T-shirts, shopping bags, packs of Panini America NFL cards and nearly 100 prizes.



Each shop also will receive special Panini America NFL Player of the Day promo packs and a Panini America NFLPOD autographed card. More than a dozen NFL players autographed cards exclusively for the promotion including rookies Doug Martin and Ryan Broyles plus veterans Novarro Bowman,James Starks, Sean Lee and more. Details of the card set and an autographed card checklist will be available September 1.



The centerpiece of the promotion is a poster featuring Panini America card images of 32 NFL players - one per team. Each day, a different player is designated as the "Panini America NFL Player of the Day." In addition, rookie stars Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III have been designated as wild cards. Every time a collector purchases a pack of officially licensed Panini America NFL trading cards in a participating hobby shop can win a prize if the Panini America NFL Player of the Day or Wild Card is pulled from that pack.



Each week, stores will conduct a drawing to award a weekly prize. At the end of the month-long promotion, each store will award the autographed card to its store winner who will then be entered into the national sweepstakes.



The national sweepstakes will award more than 50 prizes, including the chance to spend a day with an NFL player. The grand prize includes a 60-minute autograph appearance at the winner's favorite hobby shop, where the winner will also enjoy a $250 shopping spree and a visit by the player to the winner's home for a private party.



This marks the 13th consecutive year of the Panini America NFL Player of the Day program. Past grand prize winners have spent the day with: Beanie Wells, Pierre Thomas, Patrick Crayton, Steve Slaton, A.J. Feeley, Maurice Jones-Drew, Chris Simms, Rudi Johnson, Donald Driver, Ed McCaffrey, Chad Pennington and Frank Wycheck.



For more information, visit the Panini America Player of the Day Website.