Look at the lower edge of the front of a 2026 Topps Midnight Football Hobby box and you'll find a small line under "3 Chrome Autographs* per box!": "*May contain redemption cards with expiration dates." Read that asterisk before you buy a spot. This guide explains what a redemption card is, what Topps' own terms say about it, and what to ask before one lands in your spot in a break.
What is a redemption card?
A redemption card goes into a pack in place of a card that wasn't ready when the packs were made. It is often an autograph that a player hadn't signed yet. The redemption card carries a code under a silver scratch-off. You enter that code on Topps.com, and Topps ships the real card later.
On a box like Midnight, where the asterisk on the autograph guarantee points to the redemption line, a redemption can be one of the guaranteed autographs. Topps' terms say the card ships later, or that Topps may offer a substitute or credit if it can't be made (see below).
What Topps' terms say
Topps' redemption terms, as we read them on November 12, 2026, say:
- How to redeem. Gently scratch off the silver covering and enter the code into your redemption account on Topps.com. If the code can't be read, the terms give a mail-in route.
- One use only. A code can be redeemed one time.
- How long a code lasts. For products from the 2021/2022 or 2022 season and later, codes are valid for 10 years. Older cards must be redeemed by the expiration date printed on the card, and an expired code can't be extended.
- How long it takes. Allow up to 15 weeks for processing. Mystery Redemptions can take up to 6 months after the player is announced.
- If the card is late or can't be made. The terms describe substitute cards, and at longer waits Topps.com credit, each set as a multiple of the card's current market value. Topps' choices of substitute are final, and Topps can deny a substitution request. Mystery Redemptions may not be substituted the same way.
- Shipping. Report a missing or late package within five business days, and keep your contact details current.
Terms can change, so read Topps' page before you redeem.
What it means in a break
In most breaks, the breaker opens the packs, and the cards in your spot are shipped to you. A redemption is the one card that isn't finished when it reaches you: the real card still has to come from Topps, sometimes months later.
Because a code works only once, the account that enters it first is the one Topps ships to. So the main question is who scratches the card and who enters the code.
What to ask before you buy a spot
- Will a redemption ship to me unscratched? If the breaker sends the card as pulled, you scratch it and redeem it yourself with your own Topps.com account.
- If the breaker redeems it for me, how does the card get to me? Ask whose account the code goes on, who pays the second shipment, and how you'll hear when it arrives.
- Is the code ever shown on camera? A code works one time, so keep it covered until the person redeeming it enters it.
- How do you handle a substitute? If Topps offers a substitute or credit, ask who makes the choice.
Every Card Break Format explains the break formats, and Five Checks Before Buying a Team Break Spot covers what to confirm about delivery.
Questions collectors ask
Is a redemption card the same as a missing card?
No. A redemption is a placeholder you exchange for the real card. By a missing card we mean one that was never in the box.
How long do I have to redeem it?
For products dated 2021/22 or the 2022 season and later, Topps' terms say codes are valid for 10 years. Older cards carry a printed expiration date.
How long does the card take to arrive?
Topps' terms say to allow up to 15 weeks, and up to 6 months for Mystery Redemptions.
Keep track of it
Set your budget before the break starts and stick to it. If you'd spend, say, $60 on a spot (a hypothetical figure), decide now whether you'd still buy it knowing one of its cards could arrive months later.
When a redemption lands in your spot, note it in the break's notes when you log it, so you know what is still owed to you. How to log a card break shows how.
The 2026 Topps Midnight Football set page lists the autograph checklist, so you can see which cards a redemption could stand in for.
