Football Cards

Dedicated to the American sport, Football Cards originally appeared in the late 1800s as advertisements for tobacco products. It took several decades before the standalone football sets arrived to cover college and professional subjects.

Early favorites among the football card brands include Bowman, Leaf and National Chicle. The 1950s brought Topps into the mix and the 1960s added Fleer and Philadelphia football cards. More variety debuted in the 1980s and 1990s, with well-known brands like Donruss, Pro Set, Score, and Upper Deck.

In 2016, Panini took over as the exclusive supplier of licensed NFL football cards. Nearly a decade later, Topps (Fanatics) returned the favor, acquiring the exclusive license in time to make a few licensed 2025 NFL sets before fully taking control for the entire 2026 collecting season. Other brands, such as Leaf and Sage, can make pro football cards, but these cards are unlicensed.

As with other sports card collecting, the landscape for football card collecting changed dramatically in the 1990s with a move to now-common card features, such as parallels, inserts, autographs and relics.

Offensive players, especially quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, tend to dominate the football card hobby. This includes former greats and current superstars. Tom Brady is frequently one of the most popular names.

While not as popular as NFL cards, there are also collegiate cards. Because of NIL deals, some of these sets can feature current college players with official team logos.

The database below features football cards by the individual product, including checklists with parallels, rarity, pack odds, short print info, set details, expert analysis, release date, and more.