Before Tom Brady started his NFL career over twenty years ago, he played as a catcher in baseball for the Montreal Expos. This was in 1995 and was only a stint before he switched to American Football to become a quarterback legend with seven Superbowl championships.
While we can only speculate what his career would have been like if he stuck with baseball, Topps paints a picture with faux Brady rookie cards backed by a massive campaign. These rookie cards are part of the Bowman Draft 2023, featuring Tom Brady as a supposed MLB player and other real stars of the MLB.
The rookie cards feature a picture of young Tom Brady smiling in baseball gear with a mitt on his left hand. Topps has 81 autographed cards, including 50 in the gold category, 25 in the orange category, 5 in the red category, and 1 in the Superfractor card. Number 12 of 50 of the gold and 12 of 25 of the red have unique inscriptions from Tom Brady.Â
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The 12th gold parallel inscribes, “If baseball doesn’t work out, there’s always football.” On the 12th orange parallel, there’s an inscription by Tom Brady in French, which reads, “Allon Aux Expos!” translating into “Let’s go Expos!”
The Topp’s Campaign For Tom Brady’s Bowman Chrome Rookie Card
Fanatics spared no expense in launching these cards and creating hype to draw fans and collectors. On December 12 (12/12), now acclaimed as Tom Brady’s day, Topps released a campaign video to celebrate Brady and market these cards. The video showed us what Brady’s career would have been if he had chosen to play and stick with baseball.
The series of hypothetical events takes place in Tom Braddy’s dream, where he dreamt he won seven World Series in place of the Superbowl Championships. However, what stood out in the video is the collaboration with actual MLB stars to give a believable portrayal of Brady as a baseball player. In his dream, Brady supposedly played for 23 seasons with features from real baseball players, including Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, and Vladimir Guerrero.
Of course, Brady was in his legendary number 12 jersey throughout the campaign, and things became even more enjoyable with the Eli Manning feature. Eli Manning is one of Brady’s most notable Football rivals, and he posed to be an opponent again in the baseball world for this video. The campaign goes deeper with a cameo of John Hughes, who scouted Tom Brady for the Montreal Expos in 1995.
The video continues to give more than fans anticipated with the feature of the Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Here, a hypothetical Brady Plaque was depicting him as a baseball legend. In the video, we saw many Brady Easter Eggs and an ad that depicted Brady having a local auto dealership in Montreal. What was fun about the ad was that fans could actually call the displayed number at 1-866-CAR-TB12. Topps also featured a picture that claimed Tom Brady partook in Montreal’s historic comeback against the Atlanta Braves.
How Much Is A Chrome Rookie Card Selling For?
Tom Brady’s MLB Rookie Card is currently the most expensive card selling on eBay. A short-printed version was sold for over $1000 when it was first launched. However, one of the rarer cards quickly got a $500,000 offer as soon as it dropped. If you hope to own a rare autographed and inscribed rookie card by Tom Brady, you would be spending thousands of dollars.
What Are The Takeaways From These Brady’s MLB Rookie Cards?
Michael Rubin, the owner of Fanatics and Topps, came up with this card idea in partnership with Mike Mahan. It was an idea to celebrate the legend, Tom Brady, who has seemingly conquered all in the NFL. There are hundreds of merchandise celebrating him as a Football player already, and this was an idea to stand out of the multitude. Some subtle takeaways from these cards and massive campaigns include the following.
- Collectibles are trendy: Few fans would have guessed Tom Brady would have a set of cards depicting him as a rookie MLB player. However, despite the possibility of fans totally neglecting the collection, it became a coveted merchandise, with bids peaking at half a million on eBay. This record alone shows that creating collectibles for top sports stars is trendy and has a high chance of selling at pricey rates.
- Campaigns are essential in sports marketing: The video attached to selling these cards is truly special. From what was put together by Topps, you could relate to the story like Tom Brady actually has an MLB career. Portraying Tom Brady as a baseball star with seven World Series and a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame could convince sports beginners that they could achieve their dreams. This emotion and connection the campaign video establishes show its importance in pushing merchandise and collectibles.
- More sports stars into collectibles: The Bowman Draft is expected to feature more baseball and football stars in rookie cards. There are also speculations of more crossovers similar to Brady. With these, we’ll hopefully learn of the earlier career stages of some of the biggest stars in sports.
- More merchandise for Fanatics: In line with the cards and campaign video, Fanatics launched the retro jersey used by the Montreal Expos when Brady joined. Of course, fans get the Brady jersey numbered 12, and they’re produced and distributed by the Mitchell & Ness brand of Fanatics. We won’t be surprised to see more merchandise launched to promote these cards and celebrate the legacy of Tom Brady.
Conclusion
Topps is making a statement with the 2023 Bowman Draft, experimenting with crossovers and building exclusive merchandise. The Brady MLB Rookie Card is only the beginning, and we’re seated to experience more of what they offer. If you’re a sports card collector, stay tuned to our page for updates on Topps’s latest and most exclusive cards!