RAD RIFFS - A take on the best 2025 NFL Rookie trading cards to collect
Starting Our 2025 NFL Rookie Card Chase
This summer my boys and I have been at the kitchen table with stacks of 2025 Score, and I’ll admit, it feels like a throwback year. The set dropped on July 3 and gave us our first look at Cam Ward in a Titans uniform. As the No. 1 overall pick, his rookie autos and short prints are already the centerpiece of the class. Score always kicks off the season with volume, and while it isn’t a premium product, there’s nothing like pulling that first rookie auto of a player you know could lead the headlines for years.
Topps vs Panini Grudge Match Makes 2025 Card Collecting Strange
2025 doesn’t feel like the usual chase. We all know Panini has the NFL license for one more season, and Topps is waiting for 2026 to really make their move. That gap year is creating a strange rhythm in the hobby. Score and Donruss Elite are still delivering, with Elite Pen Pals autos being some of the cleanest early pulls, but collectors are talking about what happens next year as much as what’s coming out now. For the boys and I, that just means enjoying the rip in front of us and not worrying about the politics of cardboard.
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Shedeur Sanders is Hardly a Sleeper as a 2025 NFL Rookie Card to Watch
Ward is the headline, but my boys love pointing out the other rookie worth watching is Travis Hunter. He went second overall to the Jaguars and is about as exciting as a player can get, because he plays both sides of the ball. Abdul Carter, who went to the Giants at No. 3 could be the kind of name New York collectors chase if he starts strong. Then there’s Shedeur Sanders, who slipped to the Browns in the fifth but still draws as much buzz as anyone when his cards pop in a break. It’s that mix of star potential and story that keeps us flipping - not to mention the stellar showing he had starting the first preseason game of the season for the Browns.
Tetairoa McMillan and Omarion Hampton Could be Breakout Rookie Cards
I tell the boys, skill players move fast. We always set aside a stack for running backs and wideouts, because that’s where we have fun watching the market move. Ashton Jeanty was the first back taken at No. 6 to the Raiders, and Tetairoa McMillan became the first wideout at No. 8 to the Panthers. Both are already showing up in the early resale market as the kind of players who could pop with a big game. My youngest has been chasing RJ Harvey’s Broncos cards, while I’ve put a few Omarion Hampton Chargers rookies into our binder just in case. It's that kind of year.
2025 NFL Football Card Release Schedule
Approximate Release Date | PRODUCT | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
July 3 | Panini Score Football | Our first stop every year, volume set with early rookie cards. |
July 25 | Donruss Elite Football (Hobby) | Classic foilboard release, 2 autos + 1 relic per box, great rookie value. |
September 17 | Donruss Football (Hobby) | Rated Rookies-heavy, plus autographs, relics, and the king of chase cards the Downtown inserts. |
September 24 | Panini Prizm Draft Picks Football | My favorite late-summer chase, college jerseys, tons of Prizm parallels and typically several autos per box. |
Score gave us our first look, Donruss Elite dropped on July 25 with its Pen Pals on-card autos, and next up is Prizm Draft Picks in late September. That one will have the college uniforms and always brings speculation before NFL Prizm drops later in the year. It might be Panini’s last full run before the license shifts, but for us it’s another chance to rip some packs, pull some rookies, and see who becomes the breakout name by midseason. The chase is on!
Ryan Alford is the unapologetic force behind RIGHT ABOUT NOW, the top marketing podcast on Apple. A disruptor of stale media, he’s built The Radcast Network into one of the fastest growing podcast networks, launched billion-dollar campaigns for brands like Apple, Verizon, and Lexus, and is now rewriting the rules of influence, brand authority, and attention. A childhood collector turned hobby rebel, Ryan is back in the trading card game—ripping packs with his 4 boys, creating content, and hosting a Collectibles on SI podcast. If it’s not RAD, it’s not Ryan.