They won’t be making pro football cards you can hold but on Monday, Topps announced long-term agreements with the NFL and the Players Association to continue publishing digital cards in its Topps NFL Huddle app.
The deals allow Topps to continue to deliver some of its most popular brands in digital form. In other words, you can still collect Chrome and Inception—but only on your smartphone. Huddle is a collecting app and game that allows fans to earn points based on actual player performance.
Panini recently cemented its dual exclusive license for physical trading cards and will be the league’s only licensee beginning this season, ending a 60-year run for Topps NFL packs. The NFL and NFLPA did indicate the move wouldn’t affect Topps Digital and they made good on that promise with the announcement of the new agreement.
In early April, Topps released Version 4.1.13 of the Huddle app.
“Topps is passionate about continuously looking for creative and unique ways to delight a new generation of trading card and sports fans in a technology-driven culture,” said Jeremy Strauser, General Manager of Topps Digital. “We are excited about taking Topps’ rich history of NFL cards forward in this emerging digital card space, and we’re proud to continue our successful collaboration and long-standing relationships with the NFL and NFLPA.”
Topps Huddle will be delivering a first glimpse at the 2016 rookie class this weekend with exclusive Topps Draft digital cards releasing within 24 hours of NFL Draft picks being announced. NFL Draft pick digital cards will be offered in sets such as High Tek, Inception, Valor and Heritage. Topps says over 200 million cards have been “opened” through the app so far and over 20 million trades have been completed by users.
Topps NFL Huddle is free on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and in the Google Play Store for Android devices.
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