Does Panini still make NFL cards?

Panini no longer makes NFL-licensed cards. Its exclusive NFL license ended on March 31, 2026, and Topps became the NFL's exclusive trading card licensee on April 1, 2026. Panini football cards made after that date do not carry NFL team logos.

When did Panini have the NFL license?

Panini America took over the Donruss Playoff NFL license when it was formed in March 2009. It was the NFL's exclusive trading card maker from 2016 until March 31, 2026.

What were the main Panini NFL card series?

The main series were Score, Donruss, Donruss Optic, Prizm, Select, Mosaic, Contenders, Chronicles, Immaculate, National Treasures and Flawless. They ranged from entry-level sets like Score to high-end products like National Treasures and Flawless.

What was the last NFL-licensed Panini Prizm set?

2025 Panini Prizm Football. Hobby boxes released on February 2, 2026, less than two months before Panini's NFL license expired.

Who makes NFL trading cards now?

Topps, which is owned by Fanatics. Its first product under the NFL license was 2025 Topps Chrome Football, released April 15, 2026, followed by 2026 Topps Flagship Football on August 21, 2026.

Introduction to Panini NFL Card Series

December 17, 2022 Richard Weiss

Last updated: October 6, 2026

Key Takeaways

Panini held the exclusive NFL trading card license from 2016 until March 31, 2026. Topps has made the licensed NFL cards since April 1, 2026.
Panini America was formed on March 13, 2009, when Italy's Panini bought Donruss Playoff and took over its NFL license.
The main Panini NFL series were Score, Donruss, Donruss Optic, Prizm, Select, Mosaic, Contenders, Chronicles, Immaculate, National Treasures and Flawless.
The 2025 season sets were the last NFL-licensed Panini products. Hobby releases ran into February 2026, e.g. Prizm on February 2 and Flawless on February 27.
Panini football cards made after March 31, 2026 are not NFL licensed, so they do not carry NFL team logos.

Panini and the NFL: 2009 to 2026
The main Panini NFL card series
How the series compare
The last licensed Panini NFL sets
Who makes NFL cards now?
Sources

Panini made NFL-licensed trading cards from 2009 through the 2025 season, and it was the NFL's exclusive card maker from 2016 until March 31, 2026. That license has ended. Topps, which is owned by Fanatics, has been the NFL's exclusive trading card licensee since April 1, 2026, so this post is a guide to the Panini NFL era and the card series that defined it.

Panini and the NFL: 2009 to 2026

Panini is an Italian company founded in Modena in 1961. On March 13, 2009 it bought the Texas card maker Donruss Playoff and renamed it Panini America. Donruss Playoff's NFL and NFL Players Association licenses came with the deal, along with brands such as Donruss, Score and Contenders.

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Panini became the NFL's exclusive trading card maker in 2016 and held that position until March 31, 2026. For those ten seasons, every licensed NFL rookie card came from a Panini product. For the wider picture, read our guide to the top sports card brands.

The Main Panini NFL Card Series

Panini ran many football lines at once. These are the series we could confirm a first NFL set and a defining feature for.

Brand	First NFL set	Known for
Score	1989	Entry-level set with a large base set, released early in the season
Contenders	1993 (as Playoff Contenders)	Rookie Ticket autographs, which debuted in 1998
Donruss	1996	Rated Rookie cards. The 2025 set had 100 of them in a 400-card base set
National Treasures	2006	High-end autographs and memorabilia, led by the Rookie Patch Autograph (RPA) numbered to 99 or less
Prizm	2012	Chromium cards with Silver Prizms and a long ladder of color parallels
Select	2013 (returned after nearly two decades)	A tiered base set. In 2025: Concourse, Premier Level, Club Level, Suite Level and Field Level
Flawless	2014	Sold in a metal briefcase, with on-card autographs and cards set with gemstones
Immaculate	2014	Ultra-premium boxes built around autographs and memorabilia cards
Donruss Optic	2016	The Donruss design on chromium stock, with Rated Rookies and Holo parallels
Chronicles	2019	Designs from several Panini brands combined in one product
Mosaic	2020	Chromium stock with a large run of colorful Mosaic parallels

How the Series Compare

Entry-level sets: Score and Donruss

Score was the low-cost set for set builders and an early-season source of licensed rookie cards. Donruss was also a lower-priced release and is best known for the Rated Rookie logo, which Donruss first used in its 1984 baseball set.

Chromium sets: Prizm, Donruss Optic, Select and Mosaic

These are the shiny, parallel-heavy sets. Prizm was the flagship. Read the history of Panini Prizm for the full story. Donruss Optic debuted in 2016 as the chromium version of Donruss, and its first set included Rated Rookie autographs signed on-card. Select returned to football in 2013 and is known for its tiered base set. Mosaic made its NFL debut with the 2020 set, which released on September 11, 2020.

Autograph sets: Contenders

Playoff Contenders was introduced in 1993. Its Rookie Ticket autographs debuted in 1998, and the 1998 Peyton Manning and 2000 Tom Brady Rookie Tickets are the best-known cards in the line.

High-end sets: Immaculate, National Treasures and Flawless

These products are built around autographs and memorabilia cards instead of base cards. National Treasures is known for the RPA, a rookie card with a signature and a patch. In the 2025 set, RPAs were numbered from 99 down to one-of-one. The 2025 Flawless box held 10 cards in a metal briefcase: six autographs plus four gem or relic cards.

Chronicles

Chronicles reached football with the 2019 set and mixes card designs from several Panini brands in one product. That set included rookie cards in the Score, Legacy and Luminance designs.

The Last Licensed Panini NFL Sets

Panini's 2025 football products were its last with NFL licensing. Several released in early 2026, shortly before the license expired.

2025 set	Hobby release date
Donruss Football	September 17, 2025
Mosaic Football	November 7, 2025
Donruss Optic Football	January 26, 2026
Prizm Football	February 2, 2026
National Treasures Football	February 18, 2026
Select Football	February 19, 2026
Flawless Football	February 27, 2026

Panini football cards made after March 31, 2026 are not NFL licensed. That means no NFL team logos on the cards.

Who Makes NFL Cards Now?

Topps does. It became the NFL's exclusive trading card licensee on April 1, 2026, about a decade after it last made fully licensed NFL cards. Topps products under the new license include:

2025 Topps Chrome Football: released April 15, 2026.
2026 Topps Flagship Football: released August 21, 2026.
2026 Topps Heritage Football: scheduled for October 21, 2026.

See our 2026 sports card release calendar for the full schedule. Panini NFL cards from 2025 and earlier are still the licensed cards for those seasons. If you collect them, shop our football cards and read our tips for collecting football cards.