The Clemson QB and likely No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick debuts on football cards designed by his brother and sister-in-law.
Topps is looking to position itself back in the football card market, and an ideal partner has emerged to help make it happen. The brand has inked a deal with former Clemson Tigers superstar Trevor Lawrence for a special set of 50 cards, with many of them featuring original artwork from the quarterback’s brother and sister-in-law, Chase and Brooke Lawrence.
The set of 50 cards, with 20 designed by Brooke and Chase and the other 30 featuring spin-offs of previous Topps designs, will come in packs that will be sold directly to consumers.
The cards will not feature Clemson or NFL marks due to Panini’s exclusive rights deal with the NFL and NFLPA, so tracking collector demand for these cards should be an interesting process.
The presumptive No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, Lawrence will be a hot target in the card market one way or another, similar to what we have seen with Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow over the past year. His marketability and potential for career success, however, almost certainly outpace those two.
“We always try to celebrate and chronicle what’s going on in sports and pop culture,” Topps global director of e-commerce Jeff Heckman said via Sportico. “This is the first time we’ve done anything like this.”
The intersection of the sports and art worlds has become increasingly prevalent, particularly with regards to trading cards. Athletes like Rob Gronkowski are now selling custom-designed digital collectibles, and there’s no reason to expect that the trend will slow down.
For Topps, the deal with Lawrence is beneficial for several reasons. It gives them a way back into the football space, capitalizes on growing collector interest in sports-oriented artwork, and provides an opportunity to utilize the company’s direct-to-consumer approach, which Jeff Heckman notes has grown by more than 400% in the last five years.
Pricing and print runs have yet to be announced, but each pack of 20 cards is expected to retail for $100.
