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Topps Industry Conference: Five things we learned in Atlanta in 2025

Topps provided updates on licensing deals, plus new products for Premier League, Marvel

Cover Image for Topps Industry Conference: Five things we learned in Atlanta in 2025
Topps provided updates on product placements and a number of new deals scheduled to begin in 2025. (Credit: Topps)

The 2025 Topps Industry Conference wrapped up this week in Atlanta, and while there weren’t any groundbreaking changes from the trading card manufacturer, the company did announce a number of updates and provided clarity on dozens of upcoming products.

From new sets and licensing to notable new chases and concepts, here’s a glance at some of the most important news announced in recent days.

1. NBA and NFL licensing

Though the information isn’t new, Topps confirmed dates for when it expects to take over the exclusive NBA and NFL licenses from competitor Panini America.

A slide during a presentation at the conference showed Topps expects to take over the NBA licenses later this year. This confirms details provided by the company as part of a lawsuit in January that listed agreements with the NBA and NBA Players Association beginning on Oct. 1, 2025.

Licensing agreements with the league itself allows Topps to use trademarked team names and logos, while licenses with the Players Association allow the company to use images of players and player names.

Potential upcoming NBA releases include:

  • Topps Finest
  • Topps Chrome
  • Motif
  • Topps 3
  • Inception
  • Diamond Icons
  • Resurgence
  • Eternity

Part of the presentation also included the first images of licensed NBA cards, with LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama both featured.

Another slide during a presentation at the conference confirmed Topps expects licensing agreements for the NFL to begin in March and April 2026. This confirms details from January’s lawsuit filings showing an agreement with the NFL Players Association starting March 1 and an agreement with the NFL beginning April 1.

Potential upcoming NFL releases include:

  • Topps Chrome
  • Topps Finest
  • Signature Class
  • Cosmic Chrome
  • Chrome Black
  • Resurgence

2. Product placement

A number of new product concepts were either announced or had additional information confirmed this week. Here's a glance at some of the most notable elements:

WWE debut patches: Topps recently expanded its Rookie Debut Patch program to include patches for appearances at WrestleMania and first appearances for RAW and Smackdown events.

Preview mockups show some of these patches appearing as part of the Topps Royalty brand. These cards are expected to be among the most coveted among wrestling collectors during the ultra-modern era.

Bat knobs: Topps has attempted to place game-used bat knobs into more products, and it now appears knobs featuring designs from Topps Series 1 cards will appear in the high-end Tier 1 product.

Gold Logoman: The all-new Gold Logoman patches, which are worn by last year’s AL and NL MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year winners, are expected to appear in 2025 Topps Chrome Baseball.

The first preview image for the release features the Gold Logoman worn by New York Yankees star Aaron Judge.

Bowman Red Rookie Redemptions: Topps announced a new redemption program for 2025 Bowman Baseball in May on Tuesday that comes with a twist.

A limited number of rookies will feature a red rookie shield logo, and can be redeemed for Fanatics FanCash if the featured player hits specific milestones, such as Rookie of the Year, MVP, Cy Young and eventually the Hall of Fame.

Dual Logoman: The upcoming ultra high-end 2024 Topps Dynasty set will feature dual Logoman cards for the first time in the set’s history.

Dynasty has been known to feature the coveted MLB Logoman before, and this update expands on the concept.

Mays Memorial: Topps announced it will be placing game-used patches worn by players to honor the life of Hall of Famer Willie Mays into cards.

The first mockup for a card appears to show the patch as part of the high-end Definitive brand.

3. Standardized rainbow

One quality-of-life complaint many collectors have had over the years has been the difference in parallel numbering across different products.

Topps announced Tuesday that it plans to standardize the “rainbow” of parallels to be more consistent across its product offerings.

4. Premier League sets

Topps and Fanatics scored the exclusive rights to make licensed cards for the Premier League in 2024, with the agreement beginning June 1.

Last May, Fanatics Collectibles president of trading cards David Leiner told cllct the Premier League was a “crown jewel” for the company, and it had plans to do big things with the league when the rights kicked in.

Upcoming potential products for the Premier League under Topps include:

  • Merlin
  • Topps Finest
  • Topps Pristine
  • Topps Chrome
  • Royalty Collection

5. Entertainment releases

Topps has put in a significant amount of effort to build out its entertainment and non-sports release calendar, and no brand has helped that cause more than Disney, which delivers licensed Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars cards.

An expanded agreement with Disney late last year allowed Topps to add to its portfolio, and the company gave a preview of a number of potential releases in the coming years, including:

  • 2025 Topps Mint Disney
  • 2025 Disney Wonder
  • 2025 Disneyland 70th Anniversary
  • Topps Disney Vault
  • 2025 Topps Chrome Marvel Studios
  • Topps 1975 Marvel Golden Anniversary
  • 2025 Topps Infinity MCU Phase 1
  • 2025 Topps Chrome Deadpool
  • Topps Marvel the Collector
  • Topps Pixar Gold
  • Topps Toy Story 30th Anniversary
  • Topps Dune Chrome
  • Topps Meiyo Star Wars
  • 2025 Topps Smuggler’s Outpost
  • 2025 Topps Chrome Stranger Things
  • 2025 Topps Chrome SpongeBob 25th

Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.