Bob Marley Gets A Soccer Card in 2025 Topps Chrome MLS

When Topps revealed that Bob Marley will appear as a limited insert in 2026 Topps Chrome MLS, it didn’t feel like a novelty cameo, but a tribute to an icon and true fan of the game.

For collectors who know the stories, soccer wasn’t a side interest for Marley—it was a passion that ran alongside the music. He traveled with a ball, organized matches on tour days, and judged people by how they played. “If you want to get to know me,” he once said, “you will have to play football against me and the Wailers.”

Landing in packs beginning February 19, the Chrome MLS card positions Marley as an “ambassador to the beautiful game,” and that description is less marketing language than historical truth. And given the global love for Bob Marley and his music, coupled with his connection to the game, the card is sure to be a hot chase for soccer fans and music fans alike.

The Midfield General of the Wailers

Long before he became a modern cardboard collectible, soccer was Marley’s daily ritual. He played everywhere, including car parks, hotel corridors, public parks, backstage loading areas, treating pickup games with the same intensity he brought to the stage. Bandmates called him “Skipper” because everything ran through him in midfield, and they swore trying to win the ball off him was pointless. When the Wailers played touring crews or local musicians, the joke was always the same: it was like facing Brazil.

Marley idolized Pelé, supported Santos, followed Tottenham Hotspur, and took a particular interest in Ossie Ardiles. On the road he asked for a television on the tour bus so he could watch matches, and before concerts he would juggle a ball to clear his head.

One of the most famous stories—both equal parts funny and telling—was the Wailers’ hotel-room juggling game, “Money Ball,” where whoever broke something had to pay for it. It captured the way Marley mixed joy, competition, and mischief around the sport.

And in a moment that forever tied football to his life story, a toe injury suffered in a Paris kickabout during the 1977 Exodus tour led doctors to discover the melanoma that would eventually take his life.

From Trenchtown to Global Icon

Robert Nesta Marley was born in Jamaica in 1945 and became the artist who carried reggae from local sound systems to a worldwide stage.

With The Wailers, he built a catalog including Catch a Fire, Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration, Exodus, Kaya, that fused reggae with rock and soul and paired it with songs about unity, resistance, spirituality, and identity. He survived a politically charged assassination attempt in 1976, recorded in exile in London, and emerged as one of the most recognizable cultural figures on the planet.

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By the time of his death in 1981 at just 36 years old, Marley was more than a musician. He had become a symbol of Jamaica itself, receiving the nation’s Order of Merit and a state funeral.

Why the Card Works in Chrome MLS

Topps has historically leaned into crossover subjects before, like their recent inclusion of comedian Larry David in Allen & Ginter and Topps baseball releases, but Marley fits this product in a way few non-players ever could.

This isn’t a celebrity dropped into a soccer set, but a global icon who built his daily life around the game. He wore kits onstage, scheduled tour days around matches, skipped interviews to play, and treated football as both meditation and competition. In today’s terms, he lived the culture of the sport.

JUST IN: The iconic Bob Marley just got his very own soccer trading card 🇯🇲 Marley was an ambassador to the beautiful game and will forever be immortalized ⚽️🔥

This card will arrive in select packs of Topps Chrome MLS on Feb. 19 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/BmOv3grwd1
— Topps (@Topps) February 13, 2026

That makes the Chrome MLS insert feel less like a gimmick and more like recognition. For MLS, a league built on global identity and cultural crossover, Marley is a spiritual supporter whose connection to the game predates the league itself.