Guides
2026 Topps Holiday Football Checklist, Rookies and Inserts
2026 Topps Holiday Football checklist from Topps' PDF: 200 base cards with 50 rookies, holiday short prints, four inserts and the October 23 release date.
2026 Topps Holiday Football puts NFL players in Topps Holiday frames, due October 23: a 200-card checklist with 50 rookies, holiday-themed short prints and four seasonal inserts. Here is Topps' checklist counted section by section.
TL;DR: Topps' checklist has 150 veterans and 50 rookies (151 to 200, Fernando Mendoza first), a full Chrome Variation of all 200, 50 Holiday Back Variation short prints, 50 Holiday Spirit Variations and four 25-card inserts. Topps' page says available October 23. Checklist Insider lists mega boxes of 10 packs of 10 cards at $29.99 presale. No odds sheet as of October 10.
2026 Topps Holiday Football: the short version (quick answer)
2026 Topps Holiday Football puts the Flagship Football design into holiday frames: 200 base cards (50 rookies), Chrome and holiday variations, and the inserts Hidden Elf, Snow Globe Moments, Deck the Fields and Frozen Fields. Topps' product page lists it as available October 23, 2026. Topps had not posted odds as of October 10.
Key Takeaways
- Base set: 200 cards, 150 veterans (1 to 150) and 50 rookies (151 to 200).
- Release: "Available October 23" on Topps' product page; Checklist Insider agrees.
- Format: mega box, 10 packs of 10 cards, 20 boxes per case, $29.99 at presale (Checklist Insider, secondary).
- Short prints: 40 veteran and 10 rookie Holiday Back Variations; 40 veteran and 10 rookie Holiday Spirit Variations.
- Inserts: Hidden Elf, Snow Globe Moments, Deck the Fields and Frozen Fields, 25 cards each.
- Odds: none published yet.
Overview
Topps Ripped's collector guide, dated October 9, 2026, describes "a 200-card base set, including 150 veterans and 50 rookies," and names Fernando Mendoza, Carnell Tate and Arvell Reese among the rookies. Topps' checklist PDF carries the usual caveat that "actual contents and odds may vary."
On format, Checklist Insider (secondary) lists "Mega Boxes 10 cards per pack; 10 packs per box; 20 boxes per case" and says "Topps presales began on September 28, 2026, including Mega boxes priced at $29.99." That is the presale price as reported on October 10, not a current retail price. For how mega boxes compare with hobby and blaster formats, see our box format explainer.
Analysis: the 2026 Topps Holiday Football checklist in numbers
We extracted the checklist PDF's text and counted each section.
| Section (as printed) | Cards | Range or first card |
|---|---|---|
| Base Cards | 150 | 1 Marvin Harrison Jr. to 150 Leonard Williams |
| Rookies | 50 | 151 Fernando Mendoza to 200 Dillon Thieneman |
| Base Cards Chrome Variation | 150 | all veterans |
| Rookies Chrome Variation | 50 | all rookies |
| Base Holiday Back Variation Short Prints | 40 | 1 Trey McBride to 40 DJ Moore |
| Rookies Holiday Back Variation Short Prints | 10 | from 151 Fernando Mendoza |
| Base Holiday Spirit Variation | 40 | from Trey McBride |
| Rookies Holiday Spirit Variation | 10 | from 153 Garrett Nussmeier |
| Hidden Elf | 25 | HE-1 to HE-25 |
| Snow Globe Moments | 25 | SBM-1 to SBM-25 |
| Deck the Fields | 25 | DF-1 to DF-25 |
| Frozen Fields | 25 | FF-1 to FF-25 |
| Rookie Autographs | 40 | 151 Fernando Mendoza to 200 Dillon Thieneman |
The checklist also has a Base Autographs section with more than 90 veterans and a Dear Santa section. We found no relic, patch or "super" section headers in the PDF text. Checklist Insider's guide, published October 7, lists "Parallels: TBA."
Card image: Topps (Topps Ripped Holiday Football guide)
Holiday Spirit Variations. Ripped describes them as "seasonal imagery variation cards" featuring quarterbacks such as Joe Burrow and Matt Stafford, above. Topps' product page calls the rookie version a "Short print of top rookies, with a unique variety of flannel holiday design," and Ripped says it covers "10 of the top rookies." By our count of the checklist they are Garrett Nussmeier (153), Cade Klubnik (156), Cole Payton (157), Taylen Green (158), Zavion Thomas (167), Kenyon Sadiq (188), Eli Stowers (189), Arvell Reese (196), Caleb Downs (199) and Dillon Thieneman (200).
Holiday Back Variations. A separate short-print run with a holiday card back: 40 veterans (1 to 40) and 10 rookies, including Mendoza (151), Jeremiyah Love (159), Carnell Tate (168), Jordyn Tyson (170) and David Bailey (193). If short prints are new to you, our SP vs SSP guide explains how Topps labels them.
Analysis: inserts and the Dear Santa subset
Each insert set has 25 cards on the checklist.
- Hidden Elf: Topps' page says "Random Elfs located around the player, flushed into the base design." Ripped names Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Ja'Marr Chase in the set.
- Deck the Fields: players "set against a football field that has been given the full holiday decoration treatment," per Ripped, with Christian McCaffrey, Tyler Shough, Drake Maye and Bo Nix.
- Snow Globe Moments: "Inspired by one of the most iconic holiday decorations," with Bijan Robinson, Josh Allen and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
- Frozen Fields: on the checklist (FF-1 Drake Maye to FF-25 Zay Flowers); Ripped's guide does not describe it.
Card image: Topps (Topps Ripped Holiday Football guide)
Dear Santa. Ripped calls it an "auto relic subset" that "is inspired by the enduring holiday tradition of writing a letter to Santa Claus," and says "The players here, all rookies (including Fernando Mendoza and Carnell Tate), sign their wish list for the upcoming season." The checklist mostly agrees, but two Dear Santa entries (DS-MKL and DS-ZB) are players outside the 151 to 200 rookie list, and DS-BT (Brenen Thompson, a rookie at 184) is printed without the word "Rookie." We note it as a checklist inconsistency.
Card image: Topps (Topps Ripped Holiday Football guide)
GODEEPER: The other Topps football set of late October, with its 400-card checklist counted section by section. 2026 Topps Heritage Football Checklist and Box Guide →
2026 Topps Holiday Football rookies
The rookie list runs from 151 Fernando Mendoza (Raiders) to 200 Dillon Thieneman (Bears). Counting checklist lines that name each rookie, Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Garrett Nussmeier, Drew Allar, Carson Beck, Cade Klubnik, Cole Payton, Taylen Green, Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Zavion Thomas, Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and KC Concepcion appear five times each, the most of any rookie. Line counts show how many sections a player is in, not print runs.
Card image: Topps (Topps Ripped Holiday Football guide)
For how Topps defines a rookie card across sports, see our rookie cards guide.
Odds: what Topps has published so far
None. As of October 10, 2026 we found no Topps odds sheet for 2026 Topps Holiday Football, so this guide gives no pull rates. We will add an odds table by format if Topps posts one.
Community: what collectors are saying
The football set is new, so the closest community read is on the baseball edition. In a September 22 r/baseballcards thread on Topps Holiday, u/fmlongo wrote: "I love Topps Holiday. It is a fun, cheap rip." (comment). u/datdudelm was cooler on it: "Easy to find retail, basically as worthless as other retail, but fun to rip with kids/casual people so I dont hate it" (comment). Those comments are about Holiday Baseball, not this football set.
Our take
Based on Topps' checklist and Topps Ripped's guide: Holiday Football is built as a lighter set, with mega boxes at a $29.99 presale price per Checklist Insider and a checklist heavy on holiday variations rather than hits. The 50-card rookie class gets full coverage: every rookie has a base card, a Chrome Variation and, for 40 of them, a Rookie Autograph. The short prints to know are the 10 Rookie Holiday Spirit and 10 Rookie Holiday Back variations, and Dear Santa is the headline auto relic. Without an odds sheet, there is no official way yet to say how often any of them turn up in a mega box.
Frequently Asked Questions
The five questions above cover the release date, the rookie count, Holiday Spirit Variations, Dear Santa and odds.
When does 2026 Topps Holiday Football come out?
Topps' product page says Available October 23, 2026, and Checklist Insider lists the same date. DK Network's October calendar, updated October 9, did not list the product. It is a preview as of October 10; check the Topps page in release week for any change.
How many rookies are in 2026 Topps Holiday Football?
Fifty. Topps' checklist numbers the base set 1 to 200, with veterans at 1 to 150 and rookies at 151 to 200, starting with Fernando Mendoza and ending with Dillon Thieneman. Topps Ripped's guide gives the same split of 150 veterans and 50 rookies.
What is a Holiday Spirit Variation?
It is a variation with holiday-themed artwork in place of the normal background. The checklist lists 40 veteran Holiday Spirit Variations and 10 Rookie Holiday Spirit Variations, which Topps describes as a short print of top rookies with a flannel holiday design. Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs are among the ten rookies.
What is the Dear Santa subset?
Topps Ripped calls Dear Santa an auto relic subset inspired by writing a letter to Santa Claus: the player signs a wish list for the season, with memorabilia set into the card. Ripped says the players are rookies, though two names on the checklist sit outside the 151 to 200 rookie list.
Are there odds for 2026 Topps Holiday Football?
Not yet. As of October 10, 2026 we found no Topps odds sheet for the product, and Checklist Insider listed parallels as TBA. We do not estimate odds, so this guide covers checklist sections only until Topps posts the sheet.
How we checked this
Checklist facts come from Topps' checklist PDF, downloaded from Topps' CDN and extracted with a PDF text reader on October 10, 2026; section sizes, rookie lists and line counts are our counts of that text. Product descriptions come from Topps' product page and Topps Ripped's collector guide (dated October 9, 2026), read in a headless browser the same day. Format and presale price come from Checklist Insider, labelled as secondary. Community quotes were read on Reddit. We have not opened this product. Full source table: data/sources/2026-topps-holiday-football-checklist.sources.md.
References
- Topps checklist, 2026 Topps Holiday Football (PDF): https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0662/9749/5709/files/2026_Holiday_FB_Checklist.pdf?v=1790609327
- Topps, 2026 Topps Holiday Football product page (UK store): https://uk.topps.com/pages/topps-holiday-football
- Topps Ripped, 2026 Topps Holiday Football collector guide: https://ripped.topps.com/2025-26-topps-holiday-football-top-cards-collector-guide/
- Checklist Insider, 2026 Topps Holiday Football (secondary): https://www.checklistinsider.com/2026-topps-holiday-football
- DK Network, October 2026 release calendar (secondary): https://dknetwork.draftkings.com/2026/09/28/october-2026-sports-card-release-calendar/
- Reddit r/baseballcards, "What are everyone's thoughts on Topps Holiday?": https://www.reddit.com/r/baseballcards/comments/1wmwlmv/what_are_everyones_thoughts_on_topps_holiday/
Related Reading
- Sports Card Release Calendar 2026: Oct and Nov Dates: where Holiday Football sits among the other fall releases.
- 2026-27 Topps Flagship Basketball Checklist and Box Guide: Topps' other big October checklist, counted the same way.
- How to Start Collecting Sports Cards: 2026 Beginner Guide: card types and box formats for anyone ripping their first mega box.
About the author
Editorial desk
The RookieDesk desk. Every article is built from a source file: manufacturer checklists and odds sheets, grading company fee pages, and dated sale data, each linked in the article.
Keep reading
2026-27 Topps Flagship Basketball Checklist and Box Guide
Guides · 9 min
2026 Topps Heritage Football Checklist and Box Guide
Guides · 10 min
2026 Topps Allen & Ginter Checklist, Odds and Box Guide
Guides · 10 min
2026 Topps Cosmic Chrome Baseball Odds and Parallels Guide
Guides · 7 min
2026 Topps Update Series Checklist, Odds and Box Guide
Guides · 9 min
Sports Card Boxes Explained: Hobby vs Jumbo vs Blaster
Guides · 15 min
2026 Topps Update Rookies: All 111 Players on the Checklist
Guides · 11 min
Rookie Cards Explained: RC Logo, 1st Bowman and 2026 Classes
Guides · 13 min
Disclaimer
RookieDesk publishes data, not investment or financial advice. Odds are the manufacturer's published odds, not a promise of what any one box contains. Checklists, release dates, grading fees and prices change after publication; each one here carries the date we checked it. Confirm critical details with the manufacturer, grader or seller before you buy or submit. RookieDesk is not affiliated with any card manufacturer, league or players association; see our independence note.