American football.NFL cards from Topps Flagship, Signature Class and Chrome Football

Two licences, one for the teams and one for the players

An NFL card with the team logo needs two licences: the league's for the teams and the players' union NFLPA's for the players. The players' union licence went to Fanatics in 2023. What separates licensed series from unlicensed ones is covered in the guide to NFL cards, along with which manufacturers have held the licences.

The cards through the years

From 1968 Topps was the only major manufacturer of American football cards, and only in 1989 did Pro Set and Score enter the market. 2016 was the first year since 1955 that Topps did not release any cards in the sport. Since 1994 the players' union has held the Rookie Premiere, where the year's new players are photographed for trading cards in their team's uniform for the first time.