To be honest J , I have Never been a big fan of sets. Back in 1984, I did buy box after box of topps and put sets together. Coincidentally, that set included rookies such as Dan Marino and John Elway, which I had several of at the time. I stopped collecting again for a while, and then started back again in 1989, when Pro Set put out a very attractive card. Unfortunately, they were WAY overproduced. However, Score also put out sets which became more valuable and included Barry Sanders' rookie.
In my opinion today's collecting is much better as a whole. Autographs right out of packs,memorabilia cards such as game worn jerseys & patches and very limited rookies make it much more worthwhile.....