2023 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions

2023 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions keeps the line’s broad, cross-category personality while leaning more clearly into Upper Deck’s own card traditions. The 150-card base set spans athletes from several sports alongside some pop culture subjects, with the last 50 cards reserved for Splash of Color short prints and matching chase treatments that give collectors a few distinct ways to build the release.

A wide checklist with a clear split

The core appeal of Goodwin Champions is the range of subjects. This 2023 edition covers past and present athletes from basketball, baseball, football, and more, then opens the door to some celebrities and pop culture personalities as well. That mix gives the set a looser, more exploratory feel than a standard single-sport release, while still keeping the checklist anchored by sports content.

The base set is 150 cards in total, and the structure matters for collectors. The first 100 cards form the shell set, while the final 50 cards are Splash of Color short prints. That setup creates a natural collecting path: some builders will focus on the main run first, while others may choose to treat the short-printed back third as the defining chase within the set.

Upper Deck’s own history inside the design

Goodwin Champions began as a modern line inspired by the original 1888 Goodwin Champions cards, and that heritage still informs the look and feel of the brand. For this 2023 release, the design is said to lean more on Upper Deck’s own brands and history than on a pure vintage imitation. That gives the set a familiar Goodwin identity without making it a strict throwback exercise.

One specific sign of that approach is the inclusion of Young Guns branching out from hockey. For collectors, that is a notable design choice because it ties one of Upper Deck’s best-known card identities to a multi-sport format. It also reinforces how this release blends older Goodwin ideas with Upper Deck’s modern in-house style rather than staying fixed on a single template.

Chase layers and parallel choices

The confirmed chase structure is straightforward but varied. Every card in the 150-card base set has one-of-one Printing Plates, which gives the checklist a consistent top-end parallel path across the full release. That means both the shell portion and the Splash of Color short prints share a similar collector framework, even though the insert tiering is different.

Splash of Color cards also receive a 3-D Lenticular treatment, adding another choice for collectors who prefer a visually distinct subset. Because that treatment applies to the short-print portion, it gives the back third of the base set a separate collecting identity. Some collectors may decide to build around the standard base cards and plates, while others may focus on Splash of Color as the set’s main visual chase.

How to approach the set

Goodwin Champions works best for collectors who enjoy variety and are comfortable with a checklist that stretches beyond one sport. If you like building around subject diversity, the base set offers a broad field without losing its identity. If you prefer a more focused project, the 100-card shell portion provides a cleaner target, with the Splash of Color short prints available as an added layer rather than a requirement.

The safest way to think about this release is as a multi-path build. One path is the complete 150-card run. Another is the standard 100-card shell set. A third is the short-print Splash of Color portion, which can stand on its own as a smaller, more selective challenge. Because the set mixes sports with pop culture and uses Upper Deck’s own visual heritage, the appeal is in choosing the slice of the checklist that matches your own collecting style.