NEW RELEASES: Topps, Panini NFL license questions could limit 2025 football card releases

The 2025 NFL trading card release calendar could get a bit complicated, or even sparse if things play out as feared.

Fanatics and Topps are scheduled to take over the NFL trading card license in April 2026, but there have been rumors and reports that Topps might take over the license from Panini this fall. And then there also have been rumors that Topps might not produce any NFL cards this season. When asked about its football plans at the National Sports Collectors Convention, Fanatics leadership basically told collectors to stay tuned. Cryptic, ominous or exciting, we're not quite sure what to make of that.

Panini, meanwhile, continues to hold the official NFL license this season, but in years past the company has had issues adhering to regularly scheduled release dates, so we could see 2025 products during the 2027 Pro Bowl. Also, the sniping of top rookies by Fanatics weakens any Panini product. That challenge seems to be offset by the inclusion of many prospects and college stars in recently released and upcoming Panini football products.

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Though its NFL license is expiring, Panini is still cranking out football products.

One of the biggest rookies of the year, Heisman Trophy winner and Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Travis Hunter, is the featured athlete.

Hobby boxes consist of one, seven-card pack featuring one Rookie Jersey Autograph, a second autograph, and a memorabilia card as well as two base rookies and two parallels or variations. The artistic and stylish cards offer plenty of rookie autos in single, dual and triple format.

Origins also offers some of the fanciest booklets featuring rookies, stars and legends of the game. Hobby-exclusive autographs, including Rise to the Hall and Hometown Inscriptions, lead the way. 

With a price tag just a few yards north of $400, it's going to take a big hit to get your value out of this box.

The first official NFL trading card release of the season is also one of the hobby's biggest staples in Score Football. Going way back to 1989, Score has always delivered for collectors and even through the hobby's evolution, it's still a wildly popular product.

This year's hobby box boasts 200 cards, including four autographs that span prospects, rookies, stars, and football legends. The subset, insert and parallel checklist is incredibly deep, ranging from many unnumbered, common parallels all the way down to 1-of-1 Gem Masters. Collectors opening hobby boxes can expect to find 50 rookies, 24 inserts, and 10 parallels.

Although a chronically low-end product, Score still offers good bang for the buck, but keep your expectations in check for the first football release of the year.