As one of the purified fools who runs this site, but hasn't broken anything more substantial than a one-off Target pack in the past 2.5 months, I awoke on the first Saturday in May with nothing better to do than to head to Dick's Sporting Goods seeking some form of Topps Chrome NFL (or an equivalent fix). I'm a baseball collector first and foremost but, like when I inexplicably paid $40+ for a 2025-26 Topps NBA Hobby Pack a few months back (don't ask), I like to get in on the fun when something else is trending. Topps' return to licensed NFL/NBA certainly qualified in my book.
With nothing better to do - JK, I had tons better to do - I took a quick train over to the Newport, NJ mall and was shocked to find that Dick's had not only a stockpile of the product, but had rebranded an entire section as the "Collector's Corner". They even had hobby boxes of 2026 Topps Chrome Black baseball, which floored me most of all. Aren't hobbies for hobby stores? If we're living in a world where Dick's Sporting Goods can rebrand itself with impunity, then surely we're also living in a world where I should gobble up one of their megas, as long as they're reasonably priced.
Price: $70. I think I was so stunned that I wasn't asked to massively overpay that I instinctually responded, "Yes" to the clerk's kind question of, "Do you want it?" without blinking.
I mean, did I want it? Yes. I had quite literally gone there in hopes of finding it lingering behind glass or, failing that, falling from the sky directly into my hands for free. I was hoping to maybe flirt with temptation, then land on a more affordable blaster box or hanger pack, but they did not have those, so Mega it was. Had to do it.
2025 Topps Chrome Football Mega Box break: Breakdown, pack-by-pack
Pack 1 notables: Kansas City Chiefs WR Jalen Royals Hot Pink Mega-Exclusive X-Fractor, San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy Speckle Refractor, Dallas Cowboys (lol, kinda) Trevon Diggs X-Fractor, Ray Lewis Fortune 15 Insert, Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE Jack Sawyer RC
Apologies to an Allen Lazard base card, but I actually found almost everything in this pack interesting? Not knowing to expect any non-numbered parallels outside of the Mega exclusives, I was surprised to see the Purdy pop out, then even more surprised to learn that people are paying $130+ for Purdy gold refractors from the same product. As a lifelong baseball collector, I'm stunned that numbered veteran parallels are worth salt. I still remember the pain of seeing a /50 in a 2004 Bowman Draft box, slowly sliding it over, and realizing it was Richard Hidalgo or whatever and throwing it in my shame bucket. Sick to learn this.
"Hot pink? For boys?" - My Wife's Take
Pack 2 notables: Kansas City Chiefs WR Jalen Royals First Year Fabrics Relic, Las Vegas Raiders OT Kolton Miller X-Fractor
Whoa! Relics! They've got these? This pack felt unfathomably fat upon pickup, and sure enough contained only three cards: a rookie relic with a white swatch, an X-Fractor of an offensive lineman (sure), and a base rookie card. Kind of thrilling to encounter a relic when you're aiming for numbered color. According to Topps' odds, these come one in every 218 Mega packs? I wish the resale price reflected this. Unfortunately, I have now been forced to become a Chiefs (and Jalen Royals) superfan about one year after that would've been an extremely fruitful rooting interest to have.
Pack 3 notables: Jacksonville Jaguars Travis Hunter Fortune 15 Insert X-Fractor, Los Angeles Chargers Quentin Johnston Refractor, Justin Fields X-Fractor, Kansas City Chiefs WR Jalen Royals RC
First of all: Jesus, dude, Jalen Royals, stop following me. I see you. I acknowledge you. I need either a 1,000-yard season or I need to see less of you. No in-between.
Second, this Travis Hunter is truly slick. These are holding steady at $10ish buy it nows, as far as I can tell, but that's coming off a season where we weren't sure if he was a wideout, DB, or someone stuck in between (otherwise known as a failed gadget and the rare Browns draft day trade fleece). Hopefully, he holds more value than curiosity in the future. This seems like a relatively unlikely pull and a minor-to-solid win. If you like pulling hit after hit after hit, at least to some degree, this format is a clearly fun rip.
I can't lie - the Jets jersey really pops on the X-Fractor design. If only Justin Fields were still there, and if only this card were inexplicably signed by Caleb Williams, then we'd really be cooking.
Pack 4 notables: New England Patriots QB Drake Maye Future Stars, Pittsburgh Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson Hot Pink X-Fractor RC, Indianapolis Colts TE Tyler Warren RC, Jacksonville Jaguars TE Brenton Strange X-Fractor
Never feels bad to pull the cover boy. Every pack is a wild ride. The rookies and Mega exclusive parallels fall so regularly that even the so-called dud packs feel like you're extracting joy from a hobby that increasingly feels like it hates you. Can't say enough about how much fun this has been.
Downside? Really hoping to pull some of my New York Giants - if not Jaxson Dart or Cam Skattebo, then at least someone still on the roster. This pack opened with a Giants logo and Russell Wilson's scheming smile. No thanks.
Pack 5 notables: Rams QB Kurt Warner Legends of the Gridiron Aqua /199, Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka Hot Pink X-Fractor RC, Seattle Seahawks CB Riq Woolen Lime Green X-Fractor, Pittsburgh Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson RC
When I saw the numbers on the aqua blue shimmer below the surface of a base card, I got a little greedy. Unfortunately, Warner isn't the value of some of the game's current veteran stars, but the Egbuka saved the pack, selling between $8-12 during the dull portion of the offseason.
No words for how much color and assorted jazz has already come out of the first five packs of this product. Five packs in, I have a numbered vet insert, an unnumbered vet parallel (non-ref, non-x-fractor), a rookie insert X-Fractor, a rookie jersey, 3 mega-exclusive pink X-Fractors (all RCs) and a mega-exclusive lime green. At this price point, the box is well worth it for the joy alone (and, as luck would have it, is providing a little more than joy, too).
Pack 6 notables: Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka RC, Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Refractor, Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews X-Fractor
JK, forget everything I said. This product blows.
Kidding, kidding. I can accept one "L" pack. Perhaps even two. One thing that's become clear is that, if you pull a parallel RC, you're likely to pull a base card of the same rookie due to strange Topps collation.
Pack 7 notables: Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert 1975 Throwback, Miami Dolphins RB De'von Achane Future Stars, Houston Texans WR Tank Dell X-Fractor, Tennessee Titans TE Gunnar Helm RC
Saved the worst for the last two, unfortunately, but that doesn't take the shine away from the overall value.
Final thoughts on 2025 Topps Chrome NFL Mega Breakdown
It's difficult to argue with the joy this break provides. Multiple exclusive colors at a bare minimum, plus a rookie in every pack. Collation could've been cleaner, but it delivered multiple high-ceiling hits (Egbuka Pink, Hunter Insert X-Fractor), a game-worn hit, and additional opportunities (numbered color, speckle) that unfortunately landed on low-tier vets instead of upside plays. No Giants, either. I'll persevere.
Still, hard to argue. Feels like $30-35 of value out of a $70 purchase, and the fun of the break made up for the additional dollars lost (at least that's what I'll tell my therapist).
Final Grade: B, which is at least somewhat influenced by the fact that I watched a coworker pull a Patrick Mahomes Helix out of this stuff.
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