Here’s the Actual First Official Tom Brady Baseball Card — Sort Of

One of the key cards in 2023 Bowman Draft Baseball is a draft pick from 1995. You might have heard of him — Tom Brady.

Topps is marketing it as his first official baseball card. If you count completed cards available in packs, it is. But it’s not the first time the seven-time Super Bowl champ appeared on a baseball card checklist from the card maker.

That honor goes to 2014 Topps Five Star Baseball. Brady was included among the product’s autographs and made its way into packs as a redemption. Nine years later, those redemptions have still gone unfulfilled.

Fellow quarterbacks draft by MLB teams John Elway and Dan Marino were also on the original checklist.

2014 was the final season that Topps held the NFL and NFLPA licenses before Panini gained exclusive rights. It’s possible that has something to do with why the actual autographs came out at the time. For those collectors still waiting all these years later, the reasons probably don’t matter.

2023 Bowman Draft Tom Brady Autographs

Now, Tom Brady is retired and has an exclusive autograph deal with Fanatics, who owns Topps. His autograph cards are live in 2023 Bowman Draft. Including parallels, Brady has 81 total signed cards available in the product. The Gold Refractor is the most common with 50 copies. Twenty-five Orange Refractors, five Red Refractors and a one-of-one Superfractor round things out. A couple of copies include added inscriptions.

There’s also a tough unsigned version of the card that shows a young Brady in an Expos uniform using the 1995 Bowman Baseball design.

Montreal selected Brady, then a catcher, out of high school in the 18th round (507th overall) of the 1995 MLB Draft. Brady opted for college football instead and the rest is a record tome.

We’ve reached out to a Topps rep regarding the status of the 2014 Topps Five Star Tom Brady redemption and whether it will be produced. We’ll provide any updates if we get any.