Topps held their annual Industry Conference event where they announced new products, cards, signings, and more. There were a LOT of announcements, so I’ll try to break down all the news clearly and concisely.
Topps Basketball
Definitely, the most exciting news was the announcement of 2023 Topps Chrome Basketball. Although Topps does not have the card licensing rights for the NBA and NBAPA until 2026, they do have a handful of players’ autograph licensing, thanks to Fanatics. An important athlete they do have the autograph rights to is the groundbreaking, and most likely NBA rookie of the year, Victor Wembanyama. The product will also feature autographs of LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, according to Sports Card Investor.
(Official Image of the 2023 Topps Chrome Basketball Victor Wembanyama Rookie Autograph Superfractor)
Topps Baseball
As for the rest of the industry news, I’ll break it down by each sport. Let’s start with baseball updates.
- Topps Triple Threads will be coming back this year
- Topps Chrome Update will have debut patch 1/1s including Jasson Dominguez, Evan Carter, and Elly de la Cruz
- Topps Transcendent will be coming back in a different configuration
- Less expensive but has fewer cards as well
- New product called Topps Tidal will be coming in late 2024
- The product focuses on inserts and SPs
- Including new printing technology that is “brand new to the market and will be shared soon” according to CC2. I wonder if this means we’ll see a higher gem rate on this set.
I’m looking forward to Topps Triple Threads making a comeback this year. It seemed like a staple from Topps, so I was confused as to why there wasn’t a 2023 version. Topps Tidal sticks out to me because I wonder what the new printing process will look like, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much Topps will pull back the curtain on what that process looks like.
Topps Football
Moving away from baseball and shifting to football, Topps announced a lot of new sets, with sets especially geared for college football collectors, which seems to be Topps’ response to the new influx of college football collectors.
- A new product called “Topps Composite Football” will include autos of C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, Tom Brady, Bryce Young, Emmitt Smith, and Dan Marino. This seems to be like a Panini Chronicles-type product, as it will include Topps Chrome, Topps Paper, Topps Cosmic, and Topps Finest cards all in the same product.
- A new product called Topps Motif Football, will have 6 autographs per box and 1 parallel numbered to 20 or less. Will have the same signers as Topps Composite and will be a higher-end product.
- These 2 products above will be unlicensed, as Topps does not have the rights to produce NFL cards until 2025.
- The new product called Topps Collegiate Chrome Football, will feature 2024 draft athletes, as well as some retired players in their college uniforms. The main autograph chases in this set will be Drake Maye, Bo Nix, Malik Nabers, Caleb Williams (Go Bears), and Jayden Daniels.
- Another college football product will be released called Topps College Royalty Football. This is a higher-end product that will be in hobby-box format only. It will contain 6 autographs per box with rookie patch autographs numbered to 50 or less. It will include “inscriptions and unique stuff you’d expect from a higher-end brand” (CC2).
- One of the hobby favorites as of late, Bowman Chrome University Football will be coming back in 2024 with some updates as well. Retrofractors, similar to these that can be found in 2023 Bowman Chrome Baseball, will be featured in 2024 Bowman Chrome University Football. The retrofractors will include autographs as well. There will be 125 new signers this year, with Shedeur Sanders, Carson Beck, Drew Allar, and more, all returning with autographs as well.
- Slated for a September release this year
- Bowman Best University Football will be returning, with more of a focus on higher-end signers and with less of a print run than 2024 Bowman Chrome University Football.
- Slated for an October release this year
Ok, wow that was a lot to take in. As someone who barely started getting into watching college football this year, as well as watching the meteoric rise of college football cards in the hobby as of late, it’s exciting to see that college football collectors are getting way more cards, SKUs, products, and overall love from Topps. I love that they are focusing on bringing more quality, higher-end products, as well as keeping the staples and more inexpensive products in the queue as well. More cards for more collectors is always a win, and it felt like for a while there wasn’t much for college football collectors. Props to Topps.
Topps Soccer
Moving on from football to fútbol (soccer), Topps has blessed soccer card fans with a handful of new products, product changes, and SKUs.
- Topps Chrome UCC is coming back, and they are adding jumbo and breaker SKUs this year as well. Hobby Masters case hit insert is coming back as well as a new case hit called White Noise. I’m a big fan of the clean look of Hobby Masters, so I’m glad those are coming back. One of the new big chases coming to the release includes a new one–of-one superfractor chrome trophy (no idea if players who have won the UCL or UEL have these one-of-one superfractor chrome trophy cards, or if it is literally just a card of the UCL and or UEL trophy). Another huge chase in this set will be a triple autograph card of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, as well as another triple autograph card including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Robert Lewandowski. I don’t know if Zlatan and Lewandowski necessarily measure up to be on the same card as CR7 and Messi, but they’ll be cool cards nonetheless.
(Example of what the “Hobby Master” case hit insert set looked like in last year’s Topps Chrome UCC)
- Topps Chrome Sapphire UCC is coming back as well, with an autograph guaranteed per box but with less of a total box print run.
- Topps Finest UCC coming back as well this year, with an insert set called “Ronaldo’s Idols” being added. No idea if that is CR7 or Ronaldo Nazario that they are referring to, but I’d assume it’s CR7. The set will include a “Rivals” dual autograph card of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The set will also feature rookie cards of the hottest Barcelona rookie out right now, Lamine Yamal.
- Stadium Club will be coming back this year, while adding the “Members Only” SKU, with Members Only short prints as well.
- Women’s Champions League Chrome will be returning, along with a sapphire set as well. Chrome will feature UCL draw card autographs, much like what we’ve seen in the previous Chrome UCC Men’s set (see picture below for reference). The draw cards are the real draw cards, which should be a nice chase for a lot of collectors.
- A new product called Midnight Bundesliga will be coming
- Tier One Bundesliga will be returning
- Topps Chrome MLS, Topps Finest MLS, as well as Topps Renaissance MLS will feature MLS debut patches. Renaissance will include Messi on card patch autographs.
(Example of the new MLS debut patch cards)
- Topps Dynasty Soccer is coming and will feature solely on card autographs, as well as all match-worn patches. Will include all big-name signers and does not have an exact date, but Topps is aiming to release it this year.
As a mainly soccer-focused collector, I’m looking forward to what new chases and insane cards Topps will be releasing this year. It seems like Topps is really trying to catch up to Panini when it comes to their case hits, as well as trying to include more cool inscriptions into their chase cards. I love what they did with the Jude Bellingham inscription autograph chase card in the paper version of Topps UCC this year. Hopefully, Topps can keep pumping out great chases, as they’ve been doing with all sports as of late.
(Jude Bellingham Inscription Card from Topps UCC)
Topps Formula 1
Moving onto Formula 1 products, Topps has blessed us Formula 1 fans with some new products and new updates to existing ones. Let’s start with new products first.
- Topps Paddock Pass is coming, which will be a Stadium Club-esque product, focusing more on photography and cool action shots. 1 chrome card in every pack, including refractors and parallels. Paddock Pass will have hobby and retail SKUs. Paddock Pass will also include new chase insert sets, one being “Prolific” and another being called “Sparks Fly”. I wonder if Prolific will include cards of GOATs and Sparks Fly including cool action shots of when the Formula 1 drivers’ cars spark during a race.
- Topps Formula 1 Finest will come this year!
- Topps Dynasty Formula 1 will be returning. It will include booklet cards as well as legends cards and cut autograph cards. Hopefully, some Senna stuff will be included? That would be sweet.
- Topps Chrome Formula 1 will be returning. There will be a new SKU called “Qualifying Lap” which looks to be the new name of the “Lite” version, as it will include different parallels at a lower price point.
Overall, it seems like Topps really listened to the F1 card-collecting community, as we’ve been asking Topps to make a Stadium Club-esque product for F1 for a while now. Formula 1 is known for producing some of the most iconic photos in sports history, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing what those cards look like.
Topps UFC
Shifting from racing to fighting, Topps has announced a handful of new products for UFC as well as some updates for existing products. Let’s dive in.
- Topps Midnight UFC is Topps’ next UFC release, coming May 15th. It is a brand-new product from Topps. It will include cards of Bo Nickal. The product will also have patch autograph cards.
(Examples of Topps Midnight UFC cards)
- Topps Knockout UFC will be coming back, which will include 4 hits per box.
- Topps Gold Label UFC is coming, which is going to be like Topps Gold Label Baseball, where there are 3 different tiers of cards to collect. There will be some sp chases.
- Topps Finest UFC is coming back, which will have hobby and retail releases. There should be super short prints in this set.
- Topps Royalty UFC is a brand new product from Topps that is meant to be a higher-end product for UFC. There will be triple autograph cards and inscription cards. The product will also feature rookie patch autographs of fighters. Arguably the most famous ring announcer ever, Bruce Buffer, had his UFC 300 jacket acquired by Topps, and will be featured in this set with autograph patches of the said jacket, as well as be featured in booklet cards and more! I love all of these chase cards Topps has been coming out with!
Overall, I think the underlying theme of this industry conference is just how much Topps is willing to give to the SP hunters and chasers of the hobby. They seem to be really stepping it up when it comes to cool game-worn cards and autograph cards as well.
The last sport we’ll be covering from the conference is tennis! Topps seemed to turn it up when it comes to autograph signers as well as providing new products to tennis fans.
- Carlos Alcarez and Novak Djokovic will now be signing for Topps!
- A new product called Graphite Tennis will be released this year, which will be a product geared towards high-end collectors. Will have 4 packs per box, with 3 of the packs containing an autograph card or memorabilia card. The 4th pack will include a graphite metal type card.
- The new product called Topps Royalty Tennis will be coming. It will feature racket knob memorabilia cards, including Carlos Alcaraz racket knob cards!
- Topps Chrome Tennis will also be coming back this year
I don’t know much about tennis, but after watching the “Challengers” movie, I’m more inclined to learn a little more about tennis this year.
Topps Non-Sport
Last, but definitely not least, non-sports card fans can rejoice as Topps has announced a handful of new products. Here are the highlights:
- Topps is releasing two new Star Wars products, including one called Galactic Antiques and one called Hyperspace
- Galactic Antiques is going to be a higher-end product, and will definitely be the new highest-end product Star Wars is going to have.
- Topps Chrome Black Star Wars will be coming back and will feature a dual autograph card of Rey and Kylo Ren.
- Topps Finest Star Wars, Topps High-Tek Star Wars, and Topps Masterwork Star Wars will be coming.
- Following the insane release of Topps Dune, Topps is releasing a Dune Topps Chrome set.
- Topps High-Tek Stranger Things is coming
- Garbage Pail Kids x Green Day set coming soon, featuring autographs and relics. Who had this collaboration on their hobby 2024 bingo card??
- Topps is making Mars Attacks cards again]
Lots of weird and cool cards Topps is making for the non-sports cards community! I’m excited to see what kind of resale value the Green Day autograph cards go for, and what they will even look like.
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