In August, Topps retired the NFL PREM1ERE patch and moved this season's rookies to Debut Patches. The format is not finished yet. SI Collectibles reports that 2026 Topps Chrome Football, which releases Nov. 18, will carry PREM1ERE patch autograph cards for players from the 2023 and 2024 rookie classes. For some of them, the debut on the patch is more than three years old.

What Is Coming

SI's Cole Benz reported the program on Nov. 10. "For just the second time, collectors will be able to chase PREM1ERE patch autograph cards in the upcoming Topps Chrome Football release," he wrote. The patch on each card was worn by a player making his NFL debut, which SI compares to baseball's Rookie Debut Patch autographs. OTIA reported the same two classes the same day.

"We're excited to have these inserted into upcoming Topps Chrome Football," Clay Luraschi, senior vice president of product at Fanatics Collectibles, told SI.

The card SI used to illustrate the story, shown above, belongs to Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey. The embroidered patch reads "NFL PREM1ERE 2024" inside a gold frame, and the card is marked 1/1 and "Topps Certified Autograph Issue."

Two Classes on One Checklist

SI printed name lists for both classes, each introduced with the word "include." The 2023 list runs to 47 names and the 2024 list to 48.

From 2023, the names include CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sam LaPorta and Will Anderson Jr.

From 2024, they include Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr., Brock Bowers, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy and McConkey. OTIA notes that the 2024 list also reaches offensive linemen, defenders and kickers.

"There's some great, great names in there," Luraschi said.

The Timing Is the Unusual Part

SI points out that baseball and basketball debut patches usually reach collectors within a year to 18 months of the debut itself. This release breaks that pattern. Some of these players, SI writes, "have been in the league more than three years and have established themselves as bona fide stars." Its comparison from baseball: "It would be like Yoshinobu Yamamoto having his Rookie Debut Patch releasing this fall."

The wait was a choice, according to SI. Fanatics "could have slipped all the patches into the 2025 Topps Chrome release, but they took their time." Luraschi explained why:

"Part of the storytelling is also making sure you give these programs space and time. Yeah, we were chomping at the bit, but you want to present the cards in a way so the consumer knows what the intention is."

SI adds one more piece of history. Fanatics' NFL card license took effect on April 1, 2025, and the patches were developed before that date.

Where This Fits After August

CASE #0288 covered the Aug. 26 announcement. Topps said it was retiring the PREM1ERE patch and replacing it with the Debut Patch, worn by every 2026 rookie in his first regular-season appearance. That case also carried SI's numbers for the PREM1ERE cards in 2025 Topps Chrome Football. The top recorded sale was Tre'Veyon Henderson's at $12,000, Kyle Monangai's was second at $9,000, and SI put most of the rest between $1,000 and $3,000.

Analysis: The 2026 cards put the same patch in front of buyers under different conditions. The 2025 run was priced on rookies. This run carries players whose careers are already on the record, from Stroud and Nacua in 2023 to Bowers and Nix in 2024. That makes it a second, separate test of the PREM1ERE format, arriving while the format's replacement is already on the field.

What Fanatics Says It Is Selling

Luraschi framed the cards around a single moment. "They've become some of the most sought after cards for an individual player," he told SI. "When you see the patch on television for the first time, it's an exciting moment."

He tied the PREM1ERE cards directly to that idea: "I think this program really solidifies what we're trying to do; we're trying to really tell a story of when a player first steps onto that field, what that moment means, and how that patch is connected to the consumer for a trading card."

Luraschi expects the program to grow as these players keep performing. "The program is still very young," he told SI, "but what it has proven so far is that these cards are very important to people."

Confidence note: The program, the two rookie classes, the name lists, the Luraschi quotes, the comparison with baseball and basketball timing, the 2025 Topps Chrome remark, the April 1, 2025 license date and the Nov. 18 release date come from SI Collectibles (Cole Benz, Nov. 10, 2026). OTIA (Nov. 10, 2026) independently reports the 2023 and 2024 classes and the scope of the 2024 list. The August retirement and the 2025 sale figures, originally reported by SI, come from CASE #0288. Passages labeled Analysis are the blog's interpretation. Image: Fanatics, via SI.