2013 Topps Football SP Variations Gallery
Topps included short-printed variations of 55 different cards in 2013 Topps Football. The SPs all feature alternative photographs, from rookie poses to action shots and images of players running through the tunnel before a game.
Key veteran players include Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco.
Rookies are also featured – including E.J. Manuel, Eddie Lacy and Geno Smith.
The most intriguing short-print belongs to Patriots acquisition Tim Tebow. Tebow began his career with the Broncos, and led Denver to the playoffs following the 2011 season. That season, the Broncos faced the Patriots in Week 15, with the Pats winning 41-23.
Following the game, Tebow and New England QB Tom Brady met at midfield, sharing platitudes and giving each other a quick hug.
A photo from that meeting now graces Tebow’s super-short-printed variation, number SP-TT.
Another rare short-print shows case breaker Brent Williams, who won a contest in last year’s Topps product. The Williams card shows him in a rushing pose as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
Here’s a guide to the SP variations in 2013 Topps Football.
VETERAN BASE CARD VARIATIONS
1 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
(Running forward)
20 Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
(Red jersey)
40 Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers
(Running; white jersey)
50 Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
(Arms raised)
51 Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
(Hurdling)
70 Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins
(Running sideways)
100 Tom Brady, New England Patriots
(Blue jersey)
120 Ed Reed, Houston Texans
(Carrying the ball)
125 C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills
(Pink gloves)
130 Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Running against Raiders)
150 Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
(Smoke in background)
160 Trent Richardson, Cleveland Browns
(Hurdling)
175 J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
(Smoke in background)
200 Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
(Orange jersey)
210 Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
(Catching pass)
221 Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
(Hair flying)
230 Arian Foster, Houston Texans
(Blue jersey)
250 Calvin Johnson Jr., Detroit Lions
(Legs apart)
270 Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
(Scoring TD)
280 Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
(White jersey)
336 Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
(Celebration)
340 Wes Welker, Denver Broncos
(Blue jersey)
375 Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
(Running with ball)
398 Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
(Catching pass)
400 Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
(White jersey)
408 Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers
(White gloves)
410 Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
(Looking upfield)
415 Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
(Scoring TD)
430 Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
(Pink gloves)
440 Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
(Pumping fist)
ROOKIE BASE CARD VARIATIONS
11 Manti Te’o, San Diego Chargers
(Catching the ball)
37 Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals
(Ball in left hand)
43 Mike Glennon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Throwing across body)
61 Montee Ball, Denver Broncos
(Catching pass)
74 Stepfan Taylor, Arizona Cardinals
(Cradling ball)
112 Tavon Austin, St. Louis Rams
(Stands in background)
126 Geno Smith, New York Jets
(Running)
145 Johnathan Franklin, Green Bay Packers
(Catching ball)
155 DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
(Ball in left hand)
159 Ryan Nassib, New York Giants
(Ball to side)
215 E.J. Manuel, Buffalo Bills
(Passing)
245 Matt Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
(Crowd in background)
248 Justin Hunter, Tennessee Titans
(Celebration)
281 Robert Woods, Buffalo Bills
(Running)
314 Marcus Lattimore, San Francisco 49ers
(Crowd in background)
317 Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
(Catching ball)
332 Tyler Wilson, Oakland Raiders
(Ball at chest)
358 Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
(Hurdling)
384 Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
(Celebration)
386 Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings
(Running)
402 Aaron Dobson, New England Patriots
(Cradling ball)
403 Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
(Ball in left hand)
406 Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
(Ball in right hand)
407 Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals
(Arm raised)
435 Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers
(Catching ball)
SUPER-SHORT-PRINTS
SP-TT Tim Tebow
BW-SP Brent Williams
The Calvin Johnson photo looks like he peed his pants.
Haha it does. Could it be a shadow?
Haha … well played. The ‘water’ pattern is interesting, isn’t it? The photo used on Johnson’s card was taken during a Dec. 30, 2012 game against the Bears. No, it’s not a shadow – other photos from that game show a similar pattern on Calvin’s pants. Perhaps the 1990 Pro Set Fred Marion ‘belt’ card has finally met its match!
So much better than the baseball variations.
The variations are so uncreative and non-glamorous that Topps needs to say things like “ball in left hand” or “carrying the ball” to distinguish them from the “regular” cards. What’s the difference? “ball in right hand” or “dropping the ball”? Now, that is special. When cards are cool enough for people to collect on their own merits, one need not make multiple variations and “super short prints” to garner attention.
Very nice, especially all the Denver Broncos variations.
I think these are a good idea in theory but when they first did them they had better ideas like with Favre’s card (tractor, Lombardi, etc).
Make it so it’s a slight bit more obvious you pulled one instead of (if you actually do or would) spend hours to go back through your commons and see if you missed one.
I do think it’s cool to have an extra variation to chase- especially with the non- rookies (we are already chasing those anyways) but again, the Kaepernick one makes sense because that’s his celebration (or was depending on your view of things) but to have it where they simply move the ball from one hand to the next is kind of lame in my opinion.
What’s the deal with Marion’s “belt”?
Well Mark Schlareth admitted to peeing his pants on the field… Reminds me of when I was watching a Colts game and one of the O-lineman, wearing white pants, had a “Brown Mud Stain” down the back of his pants- dead centered.
That happens playing sports sometimes but this was in the 90’s and the Colts played on ASTROTURF!!! Umm…. explain THAT!!
Was probably Siragusa given that he sells diapers now.
Can anyone tell me what the codes on the back of any Topps sports card mean????
They’re meant to help with the production process. That said, in some sets they can be used kind of like a code to help confirm variations from base cards.