For the better part of a decade, football card collectors have eagerly awaited the return of a hobby icon.
While Panini did a tremendous job shepherding the NFL trading card market, helping the category grow its business sevenfold since 2019, there is a unique, undeniable nostalgia attached to the Topps Chrome brand. Now, the transition is complete. On April 15, the official NFL shield returns to 2025 Topps Chrome Football, marking the brand’s first fully licensed NFL cards since 2016. Fans will be able to find the first official product on Fanatics Live, NFLShop.com, and at select retail and hobby shop locations.
For the NFL, the decision to bring Topps back was about tapping into a massive, modern ecosystem to elevate the hobby. “This partnership between the NFL and Fanatics Collectibles brings together the league, our players and a best-in-class collectibles platform to better serve fans and grow the trading card hobby,” said Casey Collins, NFL Senior Vice President of Consumer Products. Collins added that by leveraging Topps’ expertise and innovation, the league aims to reach fans and collectors worldwide with one-of-a-kind experiences.
Honoring a Legacy, Building the Future
Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan recognizes the weight the Chrome name carries. But the goal wasn’t just to rely on nostalgia; it was to figure out how to deepen the connection between the collector and the athlete while pushing the boundaries of the hobby.
“In partnership with the league and the players association, we are excited to build a program that honors the legacy of the game while introducing never-before-seen levels of innovation, storytelling and premium design,” Mahan stated. Mahan explained that trading cards are meant to connect fans to an athlete, a team, or a moment, and that the stronger that connection is, the more desirable the card becomes.
To achieve this, the company looked beyond spreadsheets and market trends. “We make our product decisions based on authentic storytelling, talking with collectors, and on really challenging each other to tell the best stories and deepen that connection between athlete and collector,” Mahan noted.
That philosophy produced the two centerpiece programs of this set: the 1/1 Topps Rookie PREM1ERE Patch Autograph Cards and the 1/1 NFL Honors Gold Shield Autograph Cards.
The Gold Shield: Encapsulating Greatness
For as long as anyone can remember, the sports card market has been driven by a singular obsession: the rookie card. Collectors shell out premiums for unproven draft picks, hoping they evolve into the next superstar. But historically, when an established superstar actually reaches the pinnacle of the sport, the hobby’s reaction hasn’t always matched the achievement.
It’s a counterintuitive reality of the modern market: even when a superstar quarterback wins the Super Bowl, their secondary market value often plummets immediately afterward as investors rush to cash out at the peak. If you’re a collector of that quarterback, it can be hard to understand.
“When Josh Allen wins MVP, that should matter. That should matter for trading cards, and it really hasn’t,” Mahan explained. “As it was, Josh Allen’s MVP year hasn’t been any different than Josh Allen any other year”.
The Gold Shield program changes that entirely. Last season, the 2024 AP award winners wore a special gold shield found just at the base of the jersey collar to signify their excellence. Topps has secured those exact, game-worn shields and embedded them into 1-of-1 autograph cards. It allows collectors to chase established the best of the best at its absolute peak, offering a massive chase featuring players like MVP Josh Allen, Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley, Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II, and Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels.
The PREM1ERE Patch: Immortalizing the First Game
While the Gold Shields cater to veteran superstars, Topps is also elevating the traditional rookie chase. The Rookie PREM1ERE Patches feature the physical patch worn by highly touted rookies, like Jaxson Dart, Cam Ward, TreVeyon Henderson, and Cam Skattebo, the very first time they suited up for an official NFL regular-season game. The patch, which was worn in play on the player’s right breast, features the word PREM1ERE and the player’s rookie class year below the stitching.
Pulling a literal piece of an NFL jersey off a player’s back and getting it into a sealed pack requires an immense logistical undertaking. The NFL utilizes a dedicated on-field team that works directly with equipment managers at every game.
“We get those patches from equipment managers right after the game,” Collins explained. “We secure them as the NFL, we work with Fanatics, and get them to Topps right after that”. The process is heavily guarded by a strict chain of custody, complete with forms and signatures to guarantee absolute provenance.
The players themselves are already buying into the hype, with Collins noting that today’s athletes are “very savvy in the collector space”. At the recent NFL Combine, incoming rookies were actively asking league representatives how they could get their game-worn combine jerseys integrated into their first official Topps rookie cards.
A Perfect Fit for International Expansion
Beyond the massive product innovations, this multi-year licensing deal includes a major focus on global distribution. As the league pushes further into Europe and South America, trading cards offer a tangible, culturally resonant way to convert casual viewers into die-hard fans.
“Growing consumer products overall globally is important to us,” Collins stated. He noted Fanatics has super strong distribution as an international entity, specifically mentioning his recent visit to the Fanatics Collectibles physical store in London.
The league isn’t just shipping boxes overseas; they are actively integrating the hobby into their live events. With the NFL slated to play nine international games this coming season, Collins says his team is ready to hit the ground running. “We’re gonna use that as an opportunity to really be boots on ground and being able to talk to fans, interview fans and show fans how to get into this hobby”.
It’s a strategy that works both ways: international fans discover the NFL through trading cards, while existing NFL fans are introduced to the booming global collector community.
When collectors finally rip into 2025 Topps Chrome Football, they will find the classic refractor shine they’ve always loved, but backed by the official shield, 1-of-1 game-worn artifacts, and an entirely new way to chase football history. As for what Collins hopes collectors notice when they open that very first pack?
“Just that premium quality of that card,” Collins said. “It’s gonna be the best we’ve ever done”.
Which part of Topps Chrome NFL has you most excited? Let us know on Mantel.
