SP Authentic was Upper Deck's premium football line. Its 1998 set had 126 cards, sold in five-card packs, and the rookies, the Future Watch cards #1 through #30, were each numbered to 2,000. Peyton Manning is #14.
Two thousand made, and each one numbered.
Two thousand is two more than his SPx Finite rookie, which was numbered to 1,998.
The card is horizontal. Manning, in the Colts' blue jersey, holds the ball in both hands at his chest and looks off to the side. FUTURE WATCH runs up a band of dots through the middle, the right half of the card goes nearly black with COLTS printed small, and the SP Authentic logo sits in the upper corner.
There is a Die Cut parallel numbered to 500.
The design is hard on itself. Edges and corners wear and chip easily, and gem-mint copies are scarce. By the time he retired he held the records for passing yards and touchdown passes, 71,940 and 539.
