COLLECTOR cards of the young players eligible for this year's NAB AFL Draft will go on sale the Monday after the Grand Final.

The series, Future Force, has been produced by Select in conjunction with the AFL and features 78 players from across the country that took part in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

"We believe there's an appetite out there to see who the next young stars are," AFL national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said.

"We think there has been for a decade at least, as people start to focus on what's next and who's next for their teams when their seasons are over."

When the initiative was announced in May, it sparked debate as to whether the players, mostly aged 17 or 18, were ready to cope with such exposure.

But Sheehan argues the attention is all part of becoming an AFL footballer.

"Some of these boys might be playing in front of 80,000 people as soon as March next year," he said.

"There's no place to hide in footy. We're in the sports entertainment business and these boys are well prepared to accept the responsibility of being a young footballer that may well be thrust into that spotlight.

"It's just part of the education process, these blokes don't shy away from that, they're well schooled." 

The decision to produce the cards was made after a company created unofficial versions of some of last year's draft crop, with the unauthorised cards selling for up to $125.

Sheehan said the model used, which sees the players appropriately compensated, is similar to American sports where the rookie cards of stars like Michael Jordan are highly sought after.

"We think people from the players' junior clubs, their schools, their communities as well as footy fans will be searching for the next big thing in amongst the 78 that we've chosen this year," he said.

"Some time in the future that might be the card that you want - the card of the youngster before he became a star like Chris Judd or Matthew Pavlich or Gary Ablett - to have that property well before he became a star of the game."

The series features 168 cards in total, including special All Australian foils and signed AIS-AFL Academy cards that come in packs of seven and will retail for $2.99.