The full-length banner advertising the newest Topps NOW Football release on the company's flagship website Tuesday morning is extremely clear.
“Chase Malik Nabers autographs commemorating his breakout game and 1st professional touchdown!” the ad reads.
For $11.99, collectors can purchase the card with a chance for numbered parallels and on-card autograph redemptions with a “1st Career TD!” inscription.
What isn’t clear, however, is the photo of Nabers likely isn’t from his breakout performance for the Giants at Washington on Sept. 15 at all.
While the card’s caption highlights Nabers’ 10-catch, 127-yard game against the Commanders, the photograph used appears to be from 2022, when Nabers celebrated scoring a touchdown for LSU against Georgia in the SEC Championship.
The Topps NOW card shows Nabers in his New York Giants uniform, but the similarities between that photograph and the one taken by a Getty Images photographer nearly two years ago are undeniable.
From the hand gesture and facial expression to the facemask and the way his jersey sits across the pads, the images are nearly identical — except for the color swaps, of course. There is no Giants logo on Nabers' helmet or the center of his jersey, and no NFL shield on the collar — meaning no NFL-licensed appear on his uniform.
The fourth card released under the Topps NOW Football brand this season, the Nabers drop is also the fourth time Topps appears to have heavily edited a photograph from a college game to show an NFL rookie during the first two weeks of the regular season.
The use of Photoshop and airbrushing to adjust photographs on trading cards has long been accepted by collectors — even the iconic 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card was edited — but the practice for Topps NOW cards has frustrated hobbyists in recent weeks.
Since launching in 2016, Topps NOW’s print-to-demand model has allowed collectors to purchase cards commemorating specific moments in real time during a limited release window. Once the window closes, cards are printed to fulfill all orders.
To many, heavily editing photographs from college games to show NFL uniforms seems more like Topps NOW cards are being produced for the moment rather than from the moment.
Before the Nabers' release, members of the card community pointed out the possible use of editing to adjust cards for rookie quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels in Week 1. Those releases celebrate Williams’ win in his debut with the Chicago Bears and a historic rushing performance for Daniels with the Commanders.
In reality, those cards appear to have been heavily edited using images from games last year when Williams, then with USC, played against UCLA, and Daniels, then with LSU, played against Missouri.
An examination of Card No. 1 by cllct, featuring Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy, shows his card likely features a photograph from a game between Texas and Rice in 2021. Of course, Worthy's burnt-orange mouthguard and all the Longhorns' Nike-branded gear has been swapped out.
Since their release, the cards for Worthy (print run of 19,260), Williams (28,262) and Daniels (14,862) have had by far the highest print runs of any September 2024 drop under the Topps NOW program, with only a card celebrating Paul Skenes (10,479) setting the rookie strikeout record coming close.
So far, it appears the possible use of heavily-edited photos has been limited to cards released under Topps NOW Football, with cllct unable to easily find clear examples from other sports.
It’s highly likely licensing agreements between the NFL and Fanatics Collectibles limit the trading card manufacturer from using NFL photos. Panini America currently holds exclusive rights to make trading cards featuring team names and logos for both the NBA and NFL.
Fanatics, which is expected to take over those exclusive rights for the NBA in 2025 and NFL in 2026, currently holds deals with the NBAPA and NFLPA, allowing it to make unlicensed cards using only player images.
Fanatics and Panini America are currently locked in a legal battle of dueling lawsuits after Panini sued Fanatics last year for alleged antitrust violations, and Fanatics countered days later by suing Panini for unfair competition and a breach of duty to negotiate in good faith.
So far, collectors have expressed mixed feelings over Topps’ unlicensed releases. Removing team logos and names is never ideal, but that didn’t stop collectors from flocking to the much-anticipated return of Topps Chrome Basketball and the all-new Topps Motif Football.
There’s a major difference between removing team logos because of licensing agreements and using photographs from college games to represent NFL milestones, and whether or not collectors will be willing to accept the latter has yet to be determined.
Fanatics Collectibles declined to provide comment for this story.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.