2026 Topps Heritage Football Review: First Look at the 1976 Return
Heritage Football is back for the first time since 2015, this time on the 1976 Topps design. Release is October 21. This is my first look based on the official checklist. Odds are not out yet, so the full review with grades follows at release, right here on this page.
First Look Verdict
Heritage Baseball left me lukewarm this year, and Football will not change everyone's mind either. The paper base cards look flat to me. The Chrome versions are a different story, those look great. The autograph relics are the part I am genuinely looking forward to. Whether the SSPs carry this product, we will only know once Topps publishes the odds.
At 139 EUR for a Hobby box at the Topps drop you get one autograph or relic per box. That makes this a set builder and vintage fan product, not a hit chase.
Product at a Glance
| Format | Configuration | Format exclusives |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | 20 packs, 8 cards, 1 auto or relic | Dark Gray Border, Flip Stock, Black Border, Light Blue Sparkle Chrome |
| Mega Box | 17 packs, 8 cards | Red Border, Silver Sparkle Chrome |
| Value Box | 8 packs, 8 cards | Dark Green Border, Pink Sparkle Chrome |
Hobby Box / Value Box
The base set has 400 cards in the 1976 design, 100 of them rookies, with Record Breakers, League Leaders, Championship Games, Super Bowl LX and Team Cards built in. Every base card also exists in Chrome. On top come six variation sets with 150 cards in total: Image (50), Black and White Image (30), No Name (20), Flipped Helmet (20), Alternate Jersey (20) and Legend (10).
Myles Garrett Record Breakers / Drake Maye Image Variation / Cowboys Team Card Black Border (Hobby exclusive)
The Walter Payton Redemption
The most interesting idea in this product. Topps put 34 real, graded 1976 Topps Walter Payton rookie cards into the product as redemptions: one PSA 10, three PSA 9, five PSA 8, twelve PSA 7 and thirteen PSA 6. On top of that there are five Walter Payton Cut Signatures.
A nice gimmick, and a fitting one, because the 1976 set is the Payton rookie year. Be honest about the pull though. Payton is a legend, but for most younger collectors and for most of Europe he is a name from the history books. The value chase on these will be driven by US vintage collectors, not by the average breaker. 34 cards across the entire print run means you should not buy a single box for this.
Autographs and Relics
| Set | Cards |
|---|---|
| Real One Rookie Autographs | 45 |
| Real One Autographs | 39 |
| Heritage Rookie Autographs | 36 |
| Base Chrome Autographs | 33 |
| Founding Era Ink | 27 |
| Classic Renditions Autographs | 26 |
| Gridiron Collection Relic Autographs | 23 |
| Rookie Lineage Autographed Relics | 23 |
| Locker Room Autograph Relics | 20 |
| Bicentennial Relic Autographs | 15 |
| Walter Payton Cut Signatures | 5 |
| Flashbacks Autographed Relics | 4 |
Jadarian Price Heritage Rookie Auto Gold Border /50 / Jalen Hurts Base Chrome Auto / Caleb Williams Locker Room Auto Relic
Plus 91 plain relics across Rookie Lineage, Gridiron Collection, Locker Room and Real One Relics. Topps describes Real One Autographs as on-card, including Red Ink versions. The Locker Room pieces are player-worn according to Topps. For the other auto sets Topps has not said on-card or sticker yet, we will check that on the first pulls.
The autographed relics are where I see the best cards in this release. Bicentennial with Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson and Thurman Thomas next to Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiyah Love, and Flashbacks with Staubach, Bradshaw, Fouts and Drew Pearson. That mix of 1976 legends and the new rookie class is exactly what Heritage should be.
Inserts
All-Pro Series (24 cards) is the tribute to the 1976 Wonder Bread set. The Expansion (28 cards) covers the 28 teams of the 1976 league. New Age Performers and Through the Years have 20 cards each, Sweetness 8, with Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson next to Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Derrick Henry.
Tom Brady Through the Years / Justin Herbert The Expansion / Jaxson Dart New Age Performers
SSP Watch List
Topps does not label short prints and the odds sheet is not out yet. Based on set size, who is in each set and how Heritage works in baseball, these are the sets we expect to land as SSP or case hits. The searchable checklist files them under SSP until the odds confirm or correct it.
| Set | Cards | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Payton Rookie Redemption | 34 | Confirmed: 34 graded cards in the entire print run |
| Legend Variation | 10 | Smallest variation set, legends only: Payton, Staubach, Bradshaw, Tarkenton, Lambert and more |
| Sweetness | 8 | Smallest insert, named after Payton's nickname, top running backs only |
| No Name Variation | 20 | Stars only, a nod to the 1976 no name cards |
| Black and White Image Variation | 30 | Traditionally one of the rarest Heritage variations in baseball |
Image Variations (50 cards), Flipped Helmet and Alternate Jersey (20 each) we expect at the regular short print level. Once the odds are out we update this table and tell you where we were right and where we were not.
What We Do Not Know Yet
- Odds for every format, and with that the confirmation of the SSP list above
- Print runs for the Chrome and border parallels
- On-card or sticker for the auto sets Topps has not specified
Who Should Buy
- Set builders: yes. This is what Heritage is made for, and Value and Mega are the cheap way into the base set.
- Vintage and legend fans: yes, mainly for the autographed relics and the Payton content.
- Rookie auto chasers: wait for the odds. One hit per box at 139 EUR is not a rookie auto product.
- Breakers and flippers: wait until the SSP picture is clear.
Buy the card because you want it, not because everyone else does.