The first paper flagship NFL set of the new Topps license era. Topps got the NFL back in 2026 after more than a decade — Chrome led the debut wave in April, and this is the classic flagship treatment: full rookie class, veteran base, and premium hits. It's out now — here's the checklist, the box math, and how to play it.
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The banner above has said “Comps — forming” since August. They have formed. Read September 19, 2026: every figure below is a median of dated completed sales, with the count, the window and the observed daily volume beside it. No graded figure appears here — none of these cards has a dated graded sale we could read, and a price-guide grade ladder is a model, not a sale.
| Rookie | Sold median | Sales in the read | Volume | Range | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Mendoza #301 | $2.87 | 30 most recent · all Sep 18, 2026 | ~7/day | $0.99–$4.99 | eBay → |
| Fernando Mendoza 1991 35th #91TR-1 | $3.99 | 30 most recent · Sep 16–18, 2026 | ~4/day | $0.99–$7.99 | eBay → |
| Carnell Tate #318 | $1.44 | 30 most recent · Sep 1–14, 2026 | ~1/day | $0.30–$36.00 | eBay → |
| Jeremiyah Love #309 | $1.50 | 30 most recent · Sep 11–16, 2026 | ~4/day | $0.99–$8.50 | eBay → |
| David Bailey #343 | $1.59 | 14 — complete count · Aug 26–Sep 17, 2026 | ~1/day | $0.49–$5.14 | eBay → |
The headline for this set, in one line: a $119.99–$129.99 box produces base rookies of the entire top of the draft class that sell for a dollar and a half to three dollars. That is not a criticism of the product — flagship paper has always worked that way, and the value is in the autographs and the patch tier, not the base. It is the number a reader should have before deciding whether to buy boxes or buy singles. A read showing 30 sales means “the 30 most recent”; our source caps the list, so the volume column is the better measure of depth. A read showing fewer than 30 is a complete count. Full class write-up: 2026 NFL rookie cards guide.
With the checklist out, the chase is still the rookie class itself. The 2026 draft's top names get their first wide-distribution paper flagship RCs here — historically the volume market that everything else prices against. Tiers below are based on the class and the license era's established hit structure, not a published checklist.
| Card / Subset | Low ask | Why It's the Chase | Verdict | Find |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Mendoza RCsQB · Raiders · #1 overall · base RC #301 | $4.98 ask | The No. 1 pick and a Raiders QB — the most liquid name in the class. His flagship paper RC will be the volume benchmark the whole 2026 football market prices against. | Chase | eBay → |
| Jeremiyah Love RCs#309 · RB · Cardinals · top-3 pick | $1.75 ask | Skill-position rookies carry paper flagship demand, and Love is the class's marquee RB. Early-season usage will move his market fast either way. | Chase | eBay → |
| Carnell Tate RCs#318 · WR · Titans · top-5 pick | $1.50 ask | The top WR in the class. WR rookie markets are streaky but deep — a hot September makes flagship paper the cheapest entry that existed. | Watch | eBay → |
| Rookie autographsFirst Signatures · Mendoza FFS-FM | $1,500 ask | Topps flagship products traditionally carry rookie autos as the box-selling hit tier. Unconfirmed for this configuration until the checklist drops — treat as expected, not promised. | Watch | eBay → |
| PREM1ERE Patch Autographs1/1 game-worn debut patch | No comps yet | The Topps NFL era's grail: game-worn patches from a rookie's first NFL game with on-card autos. Confirmed in the Chrome wave — whether flagship carries its own version is TBD. If it does, it's the headline. | Watch | eBay → |
| David Bailey RCs#343 · EDGE · Jets · #2 overall | $1.49 ask | Defensive players are perennially underpriced in football — even a #2 overall. That cuts both ways: cheap entry, capped ceiling. Buy fandom, not flip. | Pass/PC | eBay → |
How these marks are made. Each row is pinned to one specific card, not the whole tier — card numbers are shown so you can check us. Figures are live eBay asking prices, not sold prices: we drop the two cheapest listings (which are almost always bait), take the median of the next ten, and include shipping. Asks run above solds, so treat these as the ceiling of the current market, not what you should pay. The Mendoza autograph mark comes from 23 priced listings clustered $1,345–$1,650; the two sub-$10 "read description" listings underneath it are exactly what the trim removes. PREM1ERE Patch 1/1s have no listings at all, so there is no number to give you. Asks read Aug 25, 2026.
Honest ledger: what the published checklist and box configuration confirm, and the one thing that still isn't settled.
Post-release rule: the box is a known quantity now — 240 cards and one hit for $129.99 — so don't pay a sealed premium for variance you can price around. Singles against specific card numbers, or sealed at or near MSRP, are the only two entries that respect the math.