The sports card industry is poised for significant change with the re-emergence of Chrome in both football and basketball. While Topps, now under the ownership of Fanatics, has secured the NBA and NFL licenses for trading cards in 2025/26, Panini remains the exclusive holder of the NFL license for now. This means that the initial release of Topps Chrome football and other products will be unlicensed, featuring player designs without team logos or branding.
What does all this mean for your collection? And what’s going on with the new Topps release?
Get the inside scoop with Giant Sports Cards.
Topps Football: The Latest Update
If you’re a sports card collector, you’ve probably heard of the ongoing dispute between Topps and Panini. Both companies have been marred in an antitrust suit that will determine whether Fanatics gets to keep the NFL license, despite its premature termination.
The suit recently hit a critical juncture, with Panini requesting an arbitration hearing. This arbitration committee ultimately ruled in favor of Panini in July 2024. This means Panini can continue selling NFLPA-licensed trading cards during the originally agreed-upon period, ensuring licensed Panini sports cards remain available to collectors.
That said, Topps Football has made a deal with the NFLPA that gives them exclusive rights to produce rookie autographs for many top quarterbacks from 2025 onwards. This is the deal that has kicked up so much excitement around the return of Topps to the NFL world.
How Did Fanatics Get The License?
We’ll need to break this story into three parts to get the full picture.
1. Panini’s Dominance
Panini’s dominance in the NFL trading card market was firmly established in 2009 when it secured the exclusive license. This acquisition gave them complete control over the production and distribution of officially licensed football hobby boxes, effectively shutting out Topps Chrome Football from the market. With no competition, Panini had significant leverage over pricing and product offerings.
Panini fully used its advantage against Topps Football, setting the market value for NFL cards and determining what types of cards were released. These practices often led to criticism from collectors on multiple fronts:
- Some felt the lack of competition created a stagnant market with limited innovation and higher prices.
- Other collectors believed that the market lacked variety.
- The lack of availability on release days was also a frustration voiced by some collectors, who found it hard to find the product they wanted to rip at release.
2. Fanatics Strikes Back
The sports card landscape shifted dramatically in 2022 with Fanatics’ acquisition of Topps. Topps Football and its other lineups now had access to a wealth of resources, technology, and marketing expertise to leverage against its competitors (mainly Panini).
3. The License Struggle
With Fanatics making its dramatic entry, it would only be a matter of time before it tried to get the NFL license. This is where the story branches out into two versions.
- The Official Story: On paper, the NFLPA executives have stated that the chief reason for transferring the license to Topps Chrome Football was the shuffle in Panini’s top management (who mostly left to join Fanatics) along with an increase in compensation.
- The Unofficial Story: Panini, on the other hand, believes that Fanatics orchestrated the mass exodus of top management to trigger the license change.
Licensed vs. Unlicensed: What’s The Difference?
Whatever the truth may be, Topps Football is set to return this year and most fans couldn’t be happier. There’s just one elephant in the room: what will they look like?
Topps sports cards released in 2024 will remain unlicensed. Here’s what that means for you:
- No Branding: Topps’ 2024 sports card boxes cannot feature official team logos or any branding associated with the NFL or NBA. They can only use player names and likenesses.
- Dampened Appeal: Unlicensed cards are generally less appealing to the average collector. Most fans gravitate towards sets featuring their favorite team’s logos and in turn, unlicensed single card values usually don’t carry the same value that licensed cards do. Topps has done a great job with the photography on many cards, including several key players, making it less obvious at first glance the cards are not licensed.
- Lower Prices: There’s always a silver lining. Topps Football card boxes released in 2024 will likely be cheaper than their licensed competitors to account for the lower demand.
Licensed cards, on the other hand, have full access to a league’s logos and branding, making them the natural choice for most collectors. The only real downside to licensed cards is that they are usually restricted in terms of design. For example, Topps Chrome Football cases in 2025 will have to follow certain design rules set out by the NFL.
New Releases: What To Expect
Fanatics has been keeping its cards close to the chest about upcoming releases, and we likely won’t hear about their 2025 slate for several more months. The one Topps Football 2024 release we do know about is Topps Composite, which hit store shelves on August 30, 2024.
Composite is actually a fantastic place to start if you’re looking to gear up for the new wave of Topps cards and gives collectors a preview of the other brands Topps will eventually release for football. This hobby box will include the usual favorites like Topps Chrome Black and Topps Finest, along with new launches like Midnight and the aptly named Resurgence and is the first product where a collector can find an RPA of CJ Stroud, Bryce Young and Will Levis.
As for other confirmed releases, we can expect:
- Dedicated Midnight and Resurgence hobby boxes featuring an all-new theme.
- The return of fan-favorite licensed designs in Topps Chrome and Chrome Black, along with Cosmic Chrome, which had it’s popular debut in baseball a couple of years ago.
- Topps Motif, which is a premium brand that will feature 6 autographs per box and is rumored to have print runs of /99 or less for all cards.
- A renewed focus on the Topps Football collegiate catalog, with releases like Bowman University, Collegiate Chrome, Bowman’s Best University, and a new higher-end launch called Collegiate Royalty, which will feature 6 autographs per box.
As always, you can look forward to everything you’ve come to love about the Topps Chrome line, like the premium feel of the cards and striking designs. Remember, Topps Chrome Football will finally have rookie autographs for top quarterbacks thanks to Fanatics’ deal with the NFL. There is no doubt that while the next year will be interesting to see how well the market receives Topps’ non-licensed football, the future is undeniably bright for football collectors as Topps makes it’s full return to football in the near horizon!
Get Ready For The Latest Releases
Everyone’s talking about Topps’ return to the licensed sports card market, and one thing’s certain: it’s going to be incredibly difficult to secure the new Topps Football releases as it’s rumored they are short printing the non-licensed cards.
If you’re looking to beat the rush and be the first to get new sports card releases, you’re going to want to pre-order at a trusted sports card store. At Giant Sports Cards, we work directly with leading sports card companies like Topps, which lets us ship new releases as soon as they come out. Unbox Your Love Of The Game™ with Giant Sports Cards, and enjoy free shipping on orders over $199.
