2026 Topps Chrome Football PREM1ERE Patch Autographs: 2023 and 2024 Checklist

Topps Chrome Football is set to make its second run at PREM1ERE patch autograph cards, and the 2026 release will take an unusually wide approach: the program includes players from both the 2023 and 2024 NFL rookie classes. The product is scheduled to release on November 18.

PREM1ERE cards pair an autograph with a patch worn by a player in his NFL debut. That event-specific connection is the defining idea behind the insert. Rather than simply using a uniform swatch associated with an athlete, the patch is meant to mark the moment he first took the field in the league.

For card collectors, that difference matters. A patch autograph combines several familiar hobby elements—an athlete signature, a premium memorabilia component and a limited-looking centerpiece card—but adds a specific biographical milestone. It turns the card into a record of a debut rather than only a card from a player’s early-career window.

Clay Luraschi, Senior Vice-President of Product at Fanatics Collectibles, said the company is excited to include the cards in the forthcoming Topps Chrome Football release. He also described debut-patch autographs as among the most sought-after cards for an individual athlete.

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What makes a PREM1ERE patch autograph different?

In trading-card terminology, an insert is a card placed into a product outside of its standard base-card run. An autograph card carries a player signature, while a patch card contains a piece of jersey material. PREM1ERE patch autographs join those elements with a documented event: the player’s professional debut.

That event linkage is why the cards invite comparison with Rookie Debut Patch autograph programs in other major sports. The appeal is not merely that the material came from a jersey. The intended draw is that collectors saw the patch on the uniform in the context of a player’s first NFL appearance, then can chase a card incorporating it later.

The 2026 checklist also separates this release from a typical rookie-focused product. It does not center on one current rookie class. It reaches back to 2023 while adding 2024, meaning some featured athletes have had substantial time to build their NFL resumes before their debut-patch cards arrive.

That creates two distinct collecting propositions within the same program. For players whose careers have already gathered momentum, the card offers a retrospective piece tied to the beginning of the story. For players whose standing is still developing, it is a debut artifact whose collector interest may shift as their on-field body of work grows.

A two-season checklist brings major names together

The 2023 contingent includes quarterbacks Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Will Levis, plus skill-position standouts Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jordan Addison, Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta, Zay Flowers and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Defensive names include Will Anderson Jr., Jalen Carter, Christian Gonzalez, Brian Branch and Kobie Turner.

Additional 2023 players named for the checklist include Aidan O’Connell, Andrei Iosivas, Brandon Aubrey, Brenton Strange, Chase Brown, Cedric Tillman, Dalton Kincaid, De’Von Achane, Dontayvion Wicks, Henry To’oTo’o, Josh Downs, Jonathan Mingo, Kayshon Boutte, Luke Musgrave, Luke Schoonmaker, Lukas Van Ness, Marvin Mims Jr., Michael Mayer, Michael Wilson, Parker Washington, Quentin Johnston, Rasheed Rice, Roschon Johnson, Tank Bigsby, Tre Tucker, Tyjae Spears, Tyson Bagent, Zach Charbonnet, Devon Washington and Darnell Washington.

The 2024 group is similarly expansive. Its headline names include Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, Brock Bowers, Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison Jr. is not listed, Ladd McConkey, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, Keon Coleman and Bucky Irving. The supplied checklist also includes Joe Alt, Dallas Turner, Jared Verse, Byron Murphy II, Nate Wiggins and Cooper Beebe.

Other listed 2024 players are Audric Estime, Amarius Mims, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Cole Bishop, Jalen Coker, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Kris Jenkins, Marist Liufau, Trey Benson, Tyler Guyton, Xavier Legette, Anthony Gould, Blake Corum, Calen Bullock, Cam Little, Cade Stover, Edgerrin Cooper, Javon Bullard, Joshua Karty, Ja’Lynn Polk, Junior Colson, Kamren Kinchens, MarShawn Lloyd, Malik Washington, Will Reichard, Braelon Allen, Chris Braswell, Graham Barton, George Holani, Jacob Cowing and Joe Milton III.

Note: Marvin Harrison Jr. is not among the supplied names for the PREM1ERE checklist. That is worth emphasizing because broad rookie-class programs can easily lead collectors to assume every prominent player is included. The checklist, rather than a player’s draft profile or popularity, is the relevant reference for this particular chase.

Why the delayed timing is part of the story

Debut-patch cards in baseball and basketball commonly arrive within roughly a year to 18 months of a player’s debut. The NFL version is arriving later for much of this checklist. The 2023 group has been in the league for more than three years by the time 2026 Topps Chrome Football is due, while the 2024 players are also well beyond their first games.

That timing changes how collectors will encounter the cards. A conventional early-career patch release asks the hobby to project what a rookie may become. Here, collectors have more context for many of the athletes. Some have become marquee names; others have had their careers take less predictable paths. The patch remains tied to the same original milestone, but the audience brings more information to it.

Smith-Njigba illustrates the point raised around the release: his card connects to an NFL debut that is already several seasons in the past, after he has made multiple Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl. The collector proposition is therefore less about discovering a new player and more about owning an authenticated connection to the opening scene of a career that has continued to evolve.

That does not make every player’s card equivalent. A large checklist necessarily produces varied levels of collector attention, and the supplied information does not establish print runs, odds, serial numbering, box configurations or individual-card scarcity. Those details should not be assumed from the PREM1ERE name alone. The program’s shared concept is clear; the relative availability of each card is not established here.

Patience, presentation and the NFL patch program

Fanatics Collectibles could have placed all of the available patches into the 2025 Topps Chrome release, but chose to hold them for the following year. Luraschi said the company wanted to give the program room and make its purpose clear to consumers, framing the decision as part of the storytelling around the cards.

“Part of the storytelling is also making sure you give these programs space and time,” Luraschi said.

The decision is notable because the company’s NFL card license took effect on April 1, 2025, while the patches themselves had been developed before that date. It has not been confirmed whether the NFL developed the patches in anticipation of a change in card licensees. The available information supports the chronology, but not a claim about the league’s motivation.

For collectors, the practical takeaway is simple: a card’s release date and the event represented by its memorabilia need not be close together. The PREM1ERE cards are being issued in 2026, yet the memorabilia is tied to debuts from the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The card is new; the on-field moment it documents is not.

What collectors should keep in mind

Check the player list carefully. This is a large, two-class checklist, but it is still a defined list rather than a guarantee that every player from either draft class appears.
Separate the card concept from scarcity assumptions. A debut-linked patch and autograph give the insert a strong story, but no odds or production figures were provided for this release.
Recognize the difference between a rookie card and a debut-patch card. Both can refer back to the earliest stage of an athlete’s NFL career, but PREM1ERE’s distinguishing feature is the patch worn in the NFL debut.
Expect different motivations across the checklist. Some collectors may pursue established stars whose debut moments have gained perspective over time; others may focus on players whose careers are still taking shape.

The larger significance of the release is its effort to make a particular on-field instant collectible. Luraschi said the program is young and expects attention to grow as players perform. Whether collectors pursue the biggest names, favorite teams or specific debut stories, 2026 Topps Chrome Football will provide a much broader PREM1ERE hunt than a single-season rookie checklist would allow.