Topps is stacking releases across the next two weeks: 15 hobby drops hitting between April 25 and May 9, covering soccer, basketball, baseball, football, WWE, and a Star Wars Masterworks return. Here's the full breakdown — dates, formats, and what's worth chasing, with extra weight on what matters for the European market.
Soccer
Topps Merlin Premier League 2026 — Tuesday, April 28
The Merlin brand is back. Long-running British nostalgia line in a sticker-card hybrid format, with vintage Merlin design language collectors have been asking for. Lower price point than Chrome, but strong UK and EU demand. Expect Salah, Haaland, Saka, and Premier League rookies to drive the secondary market. Pre-order now.
Topps Chrome UEFA Club Competitions 2025-26 — Thursday, May 7
- Price: $209.99 (Hobby Box)
- Box specs: 20 packs, 4 cards per pack
- Hits: 1 autograph per box
The Champions League Chrome set covering the 2025-26 season — Mbappé in his second Real Madrid year, Bellingham, Haaland, Vinicius Jr., Yamal. The refractor rainbow (base Refractor through Superfractor 1/1) is where the real money sits. For the Spanish and broader European market, this is the soccer release of the window — the brand carries weight on eBay.es, Wallapop, and Vinted alike.
Related: Topps Chrome Premier League 2026 Review & Price Guide
Basketball
2025-26 Topps Signature Class Basketball — Tuesday, April 28 (6:00 PM GMT+2)
Signature Class is Topps' on-card autograph-focused product line. Lower box price, every box delivers signed cards — strong rip value if you like opening for hits. Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, and the rest of the 2025 NBA rookie class are the chase autos. Pre-order now.
2025-26 Bowman Basketball — Thursday, May 7
This is the major basketball release of the window. Bowman Basketball has been a flagship rookie product since the NBA licensing shift, and the 2025-26 set is the first full Bowman year for Cooper Flagg's official rookie cards. Refractor parallels and prospect autographs anchor the resale market. If you're investing in basketball this spring, this is the box.
Related: Panini Donruss Basketball 2025-26: The Unlicensed Era
Baseball
2025 Topps Definitive Baseball — Wednesday, April 29
- Price: $2,499.99 (Hobby Box) — EQL release
- Box specs: 1 pack, 8 cards
- Hits: 6 autographs per box
Topps' ultra-premium baseball line. Every card matters: all autographs, booklets, and patches in 8 cards. Strictly for high-end investors. Hit a top rookie auto and the box pays for itself; miss and you're absorbing real losses. The EQL release format manages the queue so there's no rushing.
2026 Topps Chrome Black Baseball — Wednesday, April 29
Chrome Black is a premium parallel-only spinoff of Chrome Baseball — every card on black chrome stock with mirrored refractors. Built for parallel chasers and PC builders. More accessible than Definitive but still premium-priced. The visual is the selling point: black chrome refractors photograph beautifully and command a premium on raw resale.
Topps Dynasty Baseball — Monday, May 4
Topps Dynasty is the highest-end baseball product Topps makes. Single-pack boxes, every card a hit, autographs and patches dominated by inscribed cuts of legends and current stars. Box prices typically run $700–$1,500. Rip-or-flip territory — there is no "fun" tier here. Pre-order now.
2025 Topps Chrome Platinum Baseball — Tuesday, May 5
Platinum is the chrome-anniversary product line — premium parallels, deep refractor checklist, MLB rookie focus. A solid middle-tier option between standard Chrome and Chrome Black. Good rip value if you want refractor depth without paying Definitive prices. Pre-order now.
Football
2025 Topps Chrome Football — Friday, May 1
The standard hobby release of Chrome Football, following the FDI Dutch auction release earlier this month. NFL rookie chrome autos are among the most liquid cards in the entire hobby — Travis Hunter, Cam Ward, Ashton Jeanty, Shedeur Sanders, and the rest of the 2025 NFL Draft class are the chase. If you missed the FDI release, this is your standard hobby entry point.
Topps Signature Class Football — Tuesday, May 5
Sister product to Signature Class Basketball — auto-focused, on-card sigs, lower box price than Chrome. Good for collectors who want guaranteed autographs without paying for the Chrome refractor rainbow. Strong rookie-class auto checklist drives the value. Pre-order now.
WWE & Wrestling
2026 Topps Cosmic Chrome WWE — Monday, April 27 (6:00 PM GMT+2)
Cosmic Chrome was the breakout NBA product earlier this season (Cooper Flagg cover). The WWE version applies the same starfield refractor treatment to wrestlers — a unique visual chase product. Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, CM Punk, and emerging WWE stars are the names that move the secondary market. Pre-order now.
Related: Topps Cosmic Chrome NBA 2025-26 Review
2025 Topps Royalty WWE — Friday, May 1 (7:00 PM GMT+2)
Royalty is Topps' ultra-premium wrestling line — patch autographs, booklets, and 1-of-1 hits dominate the checklist. Typically $500+ per box. For dedicated WWE collectors with bankroll only. Variance is extreme: top hits are huge, bad boxes hurt.
Entertainment & Crossover
2025 Star Wars Masterworks — Monday, May 4
Masterworks is Topps' premium Star Wars line — original art sketches, cast autographs, high-end patches. Strong crossover between sci-fi collectors and sports-card collectors, especially in Europe where Star Wars sentiment runs deep. Sketch cards from named artists carry significant secondary-market premiums. Pre-order now.
2025 Topps 30 Years of Toy Story — Wednesday, May 6
- Price: $209.99 (Hobby Box) — EQL release
- Box specs: 8 packs, 4 cards per pack
- Hits: 1 autograph or sketch card per box
Pixar nostalgia celebrating 30 years of Toy Story. Voice-actor autographs (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack) are the surface-level chase, but sketch cards from licensed Pixar artists are typically where the long-term value lives. Niche audience — but a passionate, deep-pocketed one.
2026 Topps Chrome UFC — Friday, May 8
- Price: $189.99 (Hobby Box)
- Box specs: 12 packs, 8 cards per pack
- Hits: 2 autographs per box
Chrome UFC continues to grow as a collectible category. At $189.99 with 2 autos, it's more accessible than Chrome Football. The Chrome treatment gives UFC cards the refractor rainbow that collectors love. Champions and rising contenders tend to spike around their fight weeks — track schedules to time your buys and sells.
What's Worth Chasing?
For the European market, Topps Chrome UEFA Club Competitions at $209.99 is the standout. Champions League cards have global liquidity, and the Spanish, UK, and EU markets (eBay.es, Wallapop, Vinted) carry consistently strong demand for top Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Premier League refractor pulls.
For investors, Bowman Basketball 2025-26 is the pick — Cooper Flagg's first full Bowman year is a generational moment for the brand, and Bowman basketball rookies have historically anchored long-term basketball investments better than any other product.
For Spanish and UK collectors specifically, Topps Merlin Premier League is the sleeper pick. The Merlin brand has dormant equity from the 90s and the European retail audience has been waiting years for a proper return. First-print packs tend to spike on Wallapop and eBay.es within weeks of release.
For ripping fun, Cosmic Chrome WWE is the most visually distinctive product of the window. The cosmic refractor treatment is unique enough to hold attention even if WWE isn't your usual lane, and Cosmic Chrome NBA proved the format moves on the secondary market.
Skip unless you have the bankroll: Definitive Baseball ($2,500), Dynasty Baseball ($700+), and Royalty WWE ($500+) are all variance plays. Fun if you can absorb a bad box, painful if you can't.
This is one of the deepest Topps release windows of the year for the European market: Merlin Premier League and Chrome UCC in the same fortnight means Spanish, UK, and continental collectors finally have real depth to track this spring. Before pulling the trigger on box breaks, use marketplace data — eBay.es, Wallapop, Vinted listings — to gauge what's actually moving in your region.