Fanatics and Topps announced a new program Wednesday to celebrate supercollectors who have acquired the three best rookie cards for a single player by awarding them a custom 1/1 reward.
Under the new "Three Kings" program, any collector who secures a player’s 1st Bowman Superfractor Autograph 1/1, Rookie Debut Patch Autograph 1/1 and the Topps Chrome Rookie Superfractor Autograph 1/1 will receive a new autographed card featuring imagery of the player and all three grail cards on the front.
“We thought that if you collected the three best cards of one particular player — what an amazing accomplishment that ultimately is — we could reward you in some creative way,” Fanatics head of collector relations Nick Connolly told cllct. “Ultimately, where the 'Three Kings' concept came from was enhancing the collector’s journey.”
INTRODUCING: Our all-new "Three Kings" program.
— Topps (@Topps) October 8, 2025
Collectors who prove ownership of the Bowman Chrome 1st Superfractor Autograph, Rookie Debut Patch Autograph, and Topps Chrome Rookie Superfractor Autograph of the same player will receive a 1-of-1 Three Kings card of that player.… pic.twitter.com/oMJczoIuvG
In addition to the custom trading card, Topps will work with the player to possibly add an inscription for the collector as well as a meet-and-greet experience.
Eric Mandlekern, a collector best known for his collection of 1st Bowman Superfractor Autographs, was the first to receive a “Three Kings” card.
Mandlekern has completed the trio for both Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, and received the first “Three Kings” card from the program when Topps organized a meetup with Caminero in September.
Topps flew Mandlekern to Tampa Bay for a game between the Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, and while he expected to meet Caminero, he didn’t know what to expect when Topps revealed Caminero had a gift for him. Caminero then presented him with the first “Three Kings” card, inscribed “to Kern the King!”
“It was tremendous. It was a great experience,” Mandlekern told cllct. “It was really cool to be able to fly out there, go on the field, meet Junior and have him hand me this card in a beautiful case that had the ‘Three Kings’ logo on it. ...
“It really felt the way [Topps] probably wanted to make me feel by doing this — like I was rewarded for doing this, even though that wasn’t why I did it,” Mandlekern added. “It felt good to be rewarded for an achievement that wasn’t easy to accomplish.”
Since acquiring Topps in 2022, Fanatics has attempted to leverage its relationships with leagues and players to close the gap between fans and their favorite athletes by either linking game-used memorabilia to specific moments or adding unique experiences, such as Topps Big League’s Social Media Follow Back Redemptions.
“It’s a really special thing to either meet your hero or someone you’re supporting in some way through the hobby,” Connolly said. “To me, I thought it was just the ultimate reward if we’re able to get it done. … We’re always looking to push the ball forward in terms of how we can do that.”
According to Connolly, Topps monitors trends for how hobbyists collect, and a recent theme has been the attempt to pair 1st Bowman Superfractor Autographs with Rookie Debut Patch Autographs. Prior to the introduction of the RDPA, which features a special patch made for and worn only during a player’s debut, the 1st Bowman Superfractor Autograph was widely considered the most important card for each player.
The RDPA challenged that sentiment and has now created another grail for collectors to pursue.
“We saw the competition, how people love to collect the best of, and we thought this would be a really fun way if we were rewarding those achievements,” Connolly said. “We talk to collectors all the time of every level, and this was one of the thematic ways we saw people collecting. We just wanted to reward that type of trend.”
The program could also change why some collectors are motivated to track down these key cards. Collectors often hunt 1st Bowman Superfractor Autographs while prospecting players — often with the hopes those players will turn into stars, and the cards will appreciate in value.
The “Three Kings” program might incentivize some collectors to hold onto cards longer than they might have originally, which promotes a collector mindset over the investment.
“I bought these with the intention that they were good investments, but I never had a sure timetable for that,” Mandlekern said. “I bought them because I believe these two guys were future superstars. … But now I have this personally inscribed card, and it does honestly change my outlook a bit on moving them.
“I’m not rushing to sell these, but I never was to begin with either. But I think it definitely makes me question it more that it’s less for investment purposes now.”
The “Three Kings” program is currently available for current and former MLB players with all three cards, but is expected to expand now that Fanatics has the NBA license and is set to add the NFL in March 2026.
Each “Three Kings” card can only be redeemed once for each eligible player.
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.