1994 Fleer Ultra Football consists of a 525-card base set, which was split into two series. Series 1 has the first 325 cards. The base cards use a full-bleed design and feature gold foil-stamped accents, names, and logos. Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce are the two big rookies in Series 1.

The real draw of this set, and most others made by Fleer during the 1990s, is the inserts. In 1994, the hobby was in the middle of the insert card craze. That shows here with one per pack. If that wasn’t enough, randomly inserted “hot packs” are nothing but inserts.

1994 Fleer Ultra Series 1 Football Box Break

Cards per pack: 14
Packs per box: 36
Price paid: $40

Shop for 1994 Fleer Ultra Series 1 Football boxes on eBay.

Pack 1 highlights:

Herman Moore, Carl Pickens & Rod Woodson Award Winners

Pack 2:

Michael Irvin, Brian Blades & Jerome Bettis Award Winners

Pack 3:

Rod Woodson, Jim Harbaugh, John Randle & Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year 

There are a dozen different Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year insert cards in 1994 Ultra celebrating his 1993 season. 

Pack 4:

Jerome Bettis, Andre Rison, Aaron Glenn RC & Rob Fredrickson First Rounders

Pack 5:

Steve Atwater, Ben Coates, Charles Haley, Johnnie Morton RC & Shante Carver First Rounders

Pack 6:

NFL 75th Anniversary card, Deion Sanders, Thurman Thomas & Dan Marino Achievement Awards

Marino returned from his injury-shortened 1993 season by passing for over 4,400 yard and 30 touchdowns in 1994. 

Pack 7:

Cris Carter, Drew Bledsoe, Rick Mirer & Steve Young Touchdown Kings

Pack 8:

Barry Sanders, Nate Newton & Wayne Gandy First Rounders

Pack 9:

Randall Cunningham, Marcus Allen & John Elway Achievement Awards

John Elway put together a nice 1993 season, leading the NFL in pass completions (348) and passing yards (4,030).

Pack 10:

Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year

Pack 11:

Marshall Faulk RC, Troy Aikman & Trev Alberts First Rounders

Pack 12:

Boomer Esiason, Willie McGinest RC & Terry Kirby Second Year Standouts

McGinest was selected fourth overall by the Patriots after playing his college football at USC. He would go on to be part of three Super Bowl championships in New England. 

Pack 13:

Cortez Kennedy, Heath Shuler RC, Jim Kelly & Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year

Pack 14:

Aaron Glenn First Rounders

Pack 15:

Jim Everett, John Elway, Sterling Sharpe, Irving Fryar, “Rocket” Ismail & Dana Stubblefield Second Year Standouts

Dana Stubblefield quickly made good on his first round draft selection in 1993, racking up 10.5 sacks during his rookie season. That was good enough to earn Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. 

Pack 16:

Bruce Smith, Joe Montana CL, Joe Montana & Joe Montana Achievement Awards

A trio of Montana cards!

Pack 17:

Errict Rhett RC, Ronnie Lott & Sam Adams First Rounders

Pack 18:

Greg Lloyd & Charles Johnson First Rounders

Johnson was selected in the middle of the first round by the Steelers in 1994. A solid contributor at wide receiver, Johnson cleared 1,000 yards receiving just one time for Pittsburgh. 

Pack 19:

Chris Warren, Errict Rhett RC & Drew Bledsoe Second Year Standouts

Pack 20:

Greg Lloyd & Chris Slade Second Year Standouts

Pack 21:

Junior Seau, Vinny Testaverde & Marshall Faulk First Rounders

Faulk finished in the top 10 in Heisman voting each of his three college seasons at San Diego State. He continued his dynamic play in the NFL, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1994. 

Pack 22:

Andre Reed & William Floyd First Rounders

Pack 23:

Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Shannon Sharpe & John Elway Achievement Awards

Pack 24:

Rodney Hampton, Emmitt Smith, Herschel Walker & Dan Marino Achievement Awards

At the age of 32, which is getting up there for a RB, Herschel Walker exploded for a 91-yard rush in 1994. That was good enough to set the NFL mark for the season. It was also the longest rush of Walker’s career. He also had a 93-yard reception in 1994. 

Pack 25:

Reggie White, Jerry Rice, Jeff George, Derrick Thomas, Eric Metcalf & William Floyd First Rounders

Pack 26:

Desmond Howard, Steve Young & Marshall Faulk First Rounders

Pack 27:

Ken Norton, Tim Brown, Isaac Bruce RC, Ricky Watters & Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year

Tim Brown doesn’t get talked about a whole lot, but he finished his career top ten all-time in receptions (7th – 1,094), receiving yards (7th – 14,934), and receiving touchdowns (9th – 100). 

Pack 28:

Junior Seau, Vinny Testaverde & Marcus Allen Achievement Awards

Pack 29:

Andre Reed & Tom Carter Second Year Standouts

Pack 30:

Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Warren Moon, Shannon Sharpe & Bryant Young First Rounders

Four Hall of Famers in one pack!

Pack 31:

Rodney Hampton, Emmitt Smith, Herschel Walker & Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year

Pack 32:

Reggie White, Jerry Rice, Derrick Thomas, Eric Matcelf & Bryant Young First Rounders

Pack 33:

Desmond Howard, Steve Young & Joe Johnson First Rounders

Desmond Howard won the 1991 Heisman Trophy at Michigan after putting up 985 receiving yards and scored 19 touchdowns. 

Pack 34:

Ken Norton, Tim Brown, Isaac Bruce RC, Ricky Watters & Emmitt Smith Award Winners

Pack 35:

Herman Moore, Carl Pickens & Jerry Rice Achievement Awards

Pack 36:

Michael Irvin, Brian Blades & Rick Mirer Rookie of the Year

Michael “The Playmaker” Irvin was named a Pro Bowler five straight seasons from 1991-1995. During that space he caught 449 passes, totaling 7,093 yards and scored 38 touchdowns. 

Lastly, the Irvin card back. Though I prefer to see more stat lines I can appreciate packing three more player photos onto the reverse.

Unfortunately, I did not find a hot pack in this one. I did get lucky enough to pull one of the tougher Touchdown Kings inserts, though. That was the highlight of the box for me and the best looking insert set in this release. These ’90s products are loaded with Hall of Fame players, and I certainly pulled our fair share in this box. Three rookie-year Marshall Faulk cards are nothing to complain about, either.

Shop for 1994 Fleer Ultra Football on:

• Beckett Marketplace
• eBay

Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.