Topps creates Fernando Mendoza Bowman U Now card with artist Chuck Styles
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Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza had college football fans asking themselves the same two questions after each of the team's wins this season en route to an undefeated 16-0 record and national championship. The first, simply enough, was "Is this really happening?" After all, these were the Hoosiers, at least until recently the worst college football team of all time. This was a team that until a year ago would have been lucky to beat Big Ten basement dwellers Rutgers and Purdue and at best manage a field goal against powerhouse programs like Oregon and Ohio State.
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For fans who stayed tuned all the way through the celebrations and postgame interviews, there was a second question as well, having to do with the secret ingredient Mendoza credited almost as much as the Almighty for win after improbable win: Indiana Hoosier synergy. Got it, Fernando, but for fans who don't have their MBA, what exactly is synergy?
According to Merriam-Webster, synergy is defined as "a mutually advantageous conjunction or compatibility of distinct business participants or elements (such as resources or efforts)." Translating a bit more into plain English, it's when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. On the football field, that might mean a bunch of good football players who add up to a great team by making each other better, but really synergy can be found everywhere once you know what you're looking for. On a plate, it's peanut butter and jelly or a BLT. On stage, it's Milli and Vanilli. And on trading cards, it's Fernando Mendoza and Chuck Styles.
For those unfamiliar, Chuck Styles is a Philadelphia-based artist whose work most often centers around Black history and culture. Card collectors may know him best for his off-the-charts work on the otherwise forgettable Topps Project 70. The rest of America may know him, or not know him, as the artist who put Henry Aaron on a postage stamp in 2024.
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In truth, Styles has not been a stranger to Topps cards, even after Project 70. He's been something of a ringer for the brand whenever the occasion calls for Topps to bring in its heaviest hitter. Still, it had been a minute since Styles cracked the Hobby radar. He needed a little bit of Mendoza magic to remind collectors of his greatness. As for Mendoza, it's hard to be any more on top of the world than the Hoosiers quarterback is right now, but that's not to say the young man has it all.
Mendoza just needs to up the swag a bit and I’m sold. pic.twitter.com/CEPEMtmui1
— Gene Steratore II (@UXGenes) January 1, 2026
Let's face it. As far as gridiron gods go, Mendoza may well be the dorkiest of all time. And that's where Chuck Styles comes in. Give the man a canvas and some paints and Styles could make a Brussel sprout look cooler than a cucumber. In other words, Topps knew what it was doing when it turned to Styles for its latest Bowman U Fernando Mendoza drop. As the Heisman winner himself might say, the card is practically dripping with synergy.
@Topps dropped this beautiful Fernando Mendoza Bowman U Now card with artwork by our #Project70 friend and artist Chuck Styles.
— Ron Bartleet (@ngreenroom) January 20, 2026
Don't sleep on this onehttps://t.co/CVGrOUKFwK pic.twitter.com/LjJDx3G6SD
The card, which includes special parallels and autos, is only available at Topps.com until January 23. Collectors can buy singles for $11.99 or receive volume discounts with orders of five or more. For the best deal, buy 20 or more and bring the price all the way down to $8.50 a card, a 29% discount. Or to put it another way, collectors looking to save can not only get a lower price but more cards too! That's not just a deal. That might even qualify as...synergy!
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.