The Topps Ted Lasso Rookie Card Is a Rare One

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Yes, there is an official Ted Lasso trading card — a rookie card if you will. However, there’s a good chance you’ve never seen one in person and you might never find one. Suffice to say, it’s scarce.

Produced by Topps, the first Ted Lasso card came out all the way back in 2014, about six years before the first episode of Apple’s Ted Lasso TV show.

For that to make any sense, you have to understand the history of the character. Ted Lasso didn’t debut during the series premier. Originally, he was part of an NBC promotional campaign for Premier League soccer. The backstory was that he the Tottenham Hotspur coach for a very short amount of time before moving into broadcasting. While the origins and even the character’s personality were very different from TV show Ted Lasso, there are certainly some hints. Of course, Jason Sudeikis’ face adds some familiarity as well.

2014 Topps NBC Ted Lasso

In August, 2014, NBC and Topps partnered up for a promotion. It included special cards of the broadcaster’s Premier League commentators and personalities at the time: Arlo White, Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino, Robbie Mustoe — and Ted Lasso.

They were included in promotional Season Starter Kits meant to help get word out of NBC’s Premier League coverage. Rather than going traditional hobby routes to distribute the cards and kits, they were given out at bars in select markets airing the morning broadcasts.

Needless to say, it was a niche promotion to begin with. There’s a good chance that many of those who originally got the cards weren’t collectors. The likely either got rid of them or have them tucked away somewhere.

Other Ted Lasso Trading Cards

As natural a fit as Ted Lasso would be as a standalone set of trading cards, that hasn’t happened yet. Nor has it been integrated into another soccer card set. Other than the Topps Ted Lasso NBC Premier League promo card, the only other official trading card for the TV show is an add-in with a limited edition action figure from McFarlane.

Artist Cuyler Smith has created several Ted Lasso art cards as well. While popular among collectors, they are not licensed.

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