News
Topps releases coveted Tom Brady baseball card with launch of 2023 Bowman Draft set
Fanatics and Topps launched its ever-popular 2023 Bowman Draft series Tuesday, and that star of the set was not just the top MLB prospects.
Instead, one of the greatest NFL players of all time is featured in the baseball set. Tom Brady, the GOAT among NFL quarterbacks, is featured in the jersey of the Montreal Expos, which drafted the left-handed catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft.
NEW RELEASES: New card sets just in time for Christmas
Topps, which has produced a series of Brady cards for the set, highlighted the release on Tuesday, Dec. 12 with a creative video that imagines if Brady had chosen to play baseball instead of football. The video, which was released on social media, features Brady with former Expos stars and Baseball Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez, Vlad Guerrero Sr. and Larry Walker.
The Bowman set features a Brady base card, auto cards, plus several variations, including: a 1/1 Superfractor; /5 Red Refractor; /25 Orange Refractor; /50 Gold Refractor; /75 Yellow Refractor; /99 Green Refractor; /150 Blue Refractor; and a /199 Aqua Lava Refractor.
The Brady autograph cards include: a 1/1 Superfractor; a /5 Red Refractor; /25 Orange Refractor; and a /50 Gold Refractor.
Brady cards pulled from 2023 Bowman packs immediately commanded big dollars on eBay and the sports collectibles market.
Bowman Hobby Jumbo boxes were selling for $524.99 on the Topps website, while Super Jumbo boxes were $749.99 with sealed cases going for $3,999.
Aside from Brady, the set also features the prospect cards of the top picks in this year’s MLB draft: LSU’s Paul Skenes of the Pirates, Max Clarke of the Tigers, and Florida’s Wyatt Langford of the Rangers.
Brady took to social media Tuesday morning to release the video, called “Geaux Brady.” The theme: what if Brady decided to play baseball instead of football?
It features Martinez, Guerrero Sr. and Walker sitting in a Montreal bar (Brady’s Brasserie) surrounded by news clips of Brady’s baseball accolades, including: seven championships in 23 seasons; the greatest comeback of all time against Atlanta (the Braves instead of the Falcons); NL Rookie of the Year; three NL MVPs; the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby; and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
As they reminisce about Brady and his championships — including the two that got away against the San Francisco Giants — Brady wakes up in bed at 12:12 (his uniform number, and the date of the Bowman release) with the Bowman card on his nightstand.
The video was a big hit when it was released Tuesday morning, being shared by collectors and insiders throughout the hobby.
The video also mentions Brady's many fictional endorsements (Frosted Exp-O's cereal, Got Milk!), including a local car dealership. Brady promoted the video and his baseball card on social media on Topps' “Brady Day.”
Baseball Hall of Famers and Brady's imaginary teammates helped promote the card and Topps project.
Topps even produced a Topps Now card of Brady's former head coach.
Even former NFL QB and two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning got in the action, creating his own baseball Brady video.
And, of course, the Montreal Expos were lamenting what might have been.
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin gave a big thumbs-up to the Topps marketing team for the Bowman Draft launch and Brady campaign.
Also See: Ranking the Best Baseball Books of 2023
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
