From the moment they are selected by an NFL team, players eagerly await the opportunity to don their official team jersey for the first time. Beginning Thursday, May 15, several of the top players from the 2008 rookie class will get to do just that when they gather in Los Angeles for the Reebok NFL PLAYERS Rookie Premiere Presented by EA SPORTS. 

 

Trading card companies Donruss Playoff, Topps and Upper Deck will photograph the rookies in their new uniforms through captivating studio and on-the-field action shots during a series of photo shoots held at the Los Angeles Coliseum. 

 

“This is a one-of-a-kind event that brings together some of the top rookies in the 2008 class for the first time,” NFL PLAYERS Chief Operating Officer Andrew Feffer said. “It is a unique opportunity to showcase these players to our partners as interesting and compelling personalities, features that are at the core of the NFL PLAYERS brand.”

 

In its 12th year, the official event of NFL PLAYERS will again be one to remember as over 30 of this year’s top draft picks are expected to attend the four-day event.  In addition to the trading card photo shoots, rookies DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles and Kevin O’Connell of the New England Patriots will visit a local hobby shop to sign autographs and interact with fans. 

 

On Friday, a handful of the rookies will lead more than 150 students in skills and drills competitions as part of a youth football clinic at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School, located in South Los Angeles.  The Children’s Health Fund (CHF) will also be on hand to promote healthy living and nutritional habits to students through fun and interactive demonstrations. Later that evening, several of the rookies will test their gaming skills in a head-to-head battle at the EA SPORTS Rookie Madden Bowl. 

 

Many of the rookies will also take part in media appearances and corporate hospitality events. For the fourth consecutive year, Diet Pepsi will capture footage of each rookie for their season-long Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and Rookie of the Year promotions.

 

In conjunction with The NFL Network, NFL PLAYERS will produce an in-depth, one-hour television special featuring the event that will be broadcast on the network this summer.