Topps Turns NFL Draft Picks’ First Jersey Moments Into 90-Second Cards

For a handful of 2026 NFL Draft picks, the walk across the stage came with something extra: their first official NFL trading card.

Topps used Thursday night’s first round to launch a real-time NFL Draft card activation through Topps NOW, turning the familiar image of a newly drafted player holding up his first team jersey into a card within moments. Several first-round picks then signed those cards with the inscription, “My 1st NFL auto!”

That made the card more than a photo from draft night. It turned the exact moment a prospect became part of an NFL franchise into a limited-window collectible.

Topps NOW cards are available for only a short sales period, with Topps printing the number ordered once the window closes. The company’s Topps NOW page describes the program as its print-on-demand card line for major moments across sports, and its 2026 NFL section already lists first-round picks including Fernando Mendoza, David Bailey, Jeremiyah Love, Carnell Tate, Ty Simpson and others.

David Bailey Was First to Sign His Topps NOW NFL Draft Card

New York Jets first-round pick David Bailey was the first player to receive one of the special cards on draft night.

Bailey had just become the No. 2 overall pick when the Jets selected the Texas Tech edge rusher. The Jets called him the highest defensive draft choice in franchise history, giving the card added significance beyond the novelty of the Topps process.

The mechanics were simple but striking: a Topps photographer was stationed in front of the stage, snapped the player’s jersey photo, and the card was printed and brought to the player roughly 90 seconds later. Bailey then signed the card live on stage.

For Jets fans, that makes the card an unusually fast piece of franchise memorabilia. It captures Bailey before a practice, before a jersey number becomes familiar and before he plays a snap in New York.

It also fits the modern trading-card market, where scarcity and timing can matter almost as much as the image itself. Collectors buying the base Topps NOW card can potentially receive rare autograph versions, including a one-of-one signed card with the inscription, as well as /5 and /10 autographs.

Fernando Mendoza Still Got His First Raiders Card

No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza was not in attendance at the NFL Draft, but he still received a Topps NOW card marking his first official trading card as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.

That matters because Mendoza is the face of the Raiders’ new era. Las Vegas selected the Indiana quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick on April 23, officially beginning what the league site called “the Fernando Mendoza era” in Las Vegas.

Mendoza’s card does not carry the same on-stage autograph moment as Bailey’s, but the timing still gives it value for Raiders fans. This is the first card tied to Mendoza as a Raider, not just as a college star or draft prospect.

The Topps NOW page lists Mendoza’s 2026 NFL card among the current NFL releases at $11.99. It also lists Bailey, Ty Simpson, Jeremiyah Love, Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese, Mansoor Delane, Sonny Styles and other first-round names.

That creates a different kind of draft-night chase. Instead of waiting months for a traditional rookie-card product, fans can buy a card tied directly to the night their team made the pick.

The 72-Hour Window Is the Point for Collectors

Topps NOW cards are built around urgency. The cards are only available for a limited window, and Topps says the final print run is locked to the exact number sold once the window closes.

For this NFL Draft release, Sports Collectors Digest reported that the cards are available for 72 hours. Buyers can purchase cards in increments of 1, 5, 10 and 20, with the base card priced at $11.99.

That means the final print run will depend almost entirely on fan demand in the first three days after the pick. For a No. 1 quarterback like Mendoza, that could be substantial. Sports Collectors Digest reported that Cam Ward’s 2025 Topps NOW NFL Draft card had a print run of 300,006.

Topps NOW began in 2016 on MLB Opening Day, according to Sports Collectors Digest. A decade later, the NFL Draft version shows how quickly sports memorabilia has moved toward real-time moments.

For the players, the appeal is obvious. The card freezes one of the cleanest emotional beats of draft night: name called, jersey raised, dream realized.

For fans, it offers something different from a standard rookie card. The card is tied to the exact moment their team’s future changed — or at least the moment fans began hoping it did.

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